


Tiny Tony Stark

by Golden_Asp



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: De-Aged Tony Stark, Everyone lives, Except Thanos, He will destroy anyone who looks at Tiny Tony wrong, Kid Tony, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Slow Burn, Stephen deserves a raise for this, Tony is cursed and Stephen has to fix it, and what do you know, but not right away, plot happened, super protective Stephen Strange, supposed to be a fun story, that purple bitch is dead, this was fun to write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-06-11 06:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 54,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15309525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golden_Asp/pseuds/Golden_Asp
Summary: Tony Stark intervened in a battle between Stephen Strange and a witch from another dimension.  Iron Man fell, and when the dust cleared, Stephen Strange found himself staring at a toddler.Tony F*cking Stark was two years old and giving him the biggest smile he'd ever seen.Life was about to get infinitely more interesting.





	1. Oh Hell

**Author's Note:**

> This is supposed to be fun, and kind of funny with serious moments interspersed throughout. I was originally going to make this a long one shot, but then I decided short chapters because I wanted to focus on those moments of Tony getting to be a kid again while Stephen runs himself ragged trying to keep up.
> 
> For the purposes of this, Tony and Pepper mutually decided not to wed after Tony killed the purple bitch Thanos. They are still friends.
> 
> not beta-ed, mistakes mine.

Iron Man fell.

“Get him!” Stephen Strange shouted at the Cloak of Levitation. The Cloak spun off Stephen’s shoulders and rocketed after the falling hero, catching him before he hit the ground.

Stephen barely had time to spare Iron Man a glance as the witch they were fighting lunged at him again. Lines of eldritch magic wrapped around her, throwing her to the ground. She screeched at him.

“Oh, do shut up,” Stephen snapped. He looked up as a portal formed and Wong stepped through.

“Good, you got her.”

Stephen let out a huff. “Would you be so kind as to take her off my hands? Stark intervened and he hasn’t gotten back up.”

“Man sticks his nose in everything,” Wong muttered, taking the witch and spiriting her through the portal. They would deal with her later.

Stephen ran to the fallen Iron Man, kneeling next to him.

“Stark? Tony?” Stephen asked, running his eyes over the pitted suit. He had seen the witch throw something at him, and then he had fallen.

The suit started to go back into the housing unit on Stark’s chest. As the arms and legs of the suit crawled back into the housing unit, Stephen stared in confusion. There was nothing there. The suit kept retracting and Stephen’s heart twisted as he and the Cloak stared in horrified silence at the sight before them.

A toddler lay on his back, a mop of dark hair on his head. The far too large undersuit swamped the toddler. The child’s eyes were closed, the housing unit massive on his tiny chest.

“Oh, shit,” Stephen whispered. The toddler opened his eyes at Stephen’s voice.

He would recognize those whiskey brown eyes anywhere. 

Tony Fucking Stark was a fucking toddler.

“Tony?” Stephen whispered, reaching a trembling hand for the child. The boy gave him a huge smile, reaching for his fingers. Stephen let him grasp his fingers, the child’s grip not strong enough to hurt.

“Oh, hell,” Stephen muttered. He pulled the undersuit around the boy, wrapping him up and pulling him into his arms. His eyes drifted to the scars on the boy’s chest. They hadn’t disappeared, and look horrible on a child. They were bad enough on the man, seeing them on a two year old was unthinkable. Tony clung to Stephen’s neck, chubby little legs going to either side of his waist. Stephen held the housing unit for the nanoparticles in one hand.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” He couldn’t leave it in the middle of the Manhattan.

Stephen frowned. He thought he heard a female voice and he looked around. His eyes landed on Tony’s sunglasses. He made sure he had a good grip on Tony and leaned over, picking them off the ground and putting them on.

“Boss? Boss? What’s going on?” 

“FRIDAY, right?” Stephen asked quickly, blinking at the flow of information across the lenses. Was this how Tony saw the world?

There was a beat of silence. “Doctor Strange? Why are you wearing Mr. Stark’s glasses?” FRIDAY asked warily.

“Uh…there was a mishap…” Stephen started, glancing at Tony. The toddler stared at the glasses on Stephen’s face, completely enthralled. He reached up, touching the frames with a smile.

“Holy fuck, is that the boss?” FRIDAY asked.

“You curse?” Stephen asked, unsure of why that surprised him.

“When the occasion calls for it, and I think this calls for it,” FRIDAY quipped back. Stephen watched as Tony’s vitals popped up in his sight. It was truly fascinating. 

“Agreed,” Stephen said, tilting his head slightly to ensure Tony didn’t pull the glasses off his face.

“I can’t get a full scan on him here,” FRIDAY said, “but from what I can tell, he seems healthy. Just…younger.”

“He was hit with something during the fight.”

“I remember, Doc. He blacked out and so did I,” FRIDAY said.

“I need to get him to Kamar-Taj to look over him magically.”

“He won’t like that. He still hates magic, even after Thanos,” FRIDAY warned.

Stephen held one hand out, a blue butterfly sparking into existence in his palm. Tony cooed, reaching for it.

“He’s a toddler, FRIDAY,” Stephen said quietly, “if it sparkles, he’ll like it.”

Tony giggled as the butterfly landed on his nose, wings flapping.

“Fine,” FRIDAY said. “Take me with you.”

“Done,” Stephen said. “First, what should I do with this?” He held the housing unit up.

“I’m guessing you don’t have pockets in this get up?” FRIDAY asked.

“Not really,” Stephen said.

“Then attach it to your chest,” FRIDAY said.

“Is it going to turn into the suit?” Stephen asked warily.

“No, Doctor. I have rendered the nanoparticles inert.”

“Okay then,” Stephen muttered, pressing the housing unit to his chest where the Eye of Agamotto had once sat. 

Tony gave him that sunny smile again and Stephen wasn’t sure if he managed to return it. He shifted Tony in his arms and opened a portal with quick movements. Tony reached for the sparking magic, but Stephen pulled him back, settling him on his hip.

He stepped through. “Wong!” he yelled.

Tony shivered in the colder temperature of Kathmandu, snuggling closer to Stephen. The Cloak wrapped an edge around Tony, keeping the boy warm.

“What now?” Wong asked, setting down the sandwich he had just gotten back to. Wong took a good look at Stephen. “Why are you wearing Stark’s glasses and why do you—” 

He got a closer look at the child.

“That’s Stark,” Wong said.

“As always, you are the master of the obvious,” Stephen said.

“What happened?” Wong said, staring intently at the child in Stephen’s arms. Tony burrowed his face against Stephen’s neck, clinging tighter to him.

“Stop glaring at him,” Stephen said, “you’re scaring him.”

Wong just arched his eyebrow. 

“I think he was cursed,” Stephen finally answered, one hand absentmindedly rubbing Tony’s back.

“Put him here so we can examine him,” Wong said, pointing at a table.

Stephen set Tony on the table, wrapped in the jacket of the undersuit. Tony reached for Stephen, making grabby hands at him.

“His clothes didn’t shrink,” Wong said, staring at the haphazard swaddling job.

“Again, master of the obvious,” Stephen snapped. “I’ve never exactly had to deal with this before.”

Wong sighed and walked through a door, coming back a moment later. Wong went still when he pulled the jacket off, seeing the toddler’s chest riddled with scars. Stephen watched in shock as Wong expertly wrapped Tony in the cloth diaper.

“We have diapers in Kamar-Taj?” Stephen asked.

“We do have members with families, you know,” Wong said, moving his hands over Tony’s body. 

Stephen sighed, trying to ignore the flow of data that FRIDAY had streaming across the glasses.

“FRIDAY, please, that’s distracting,” he murmured.

“Sorry,” FRIDAY said, shrinking the display. 

He joined Wong, his own hands twisting over Tony’s small form as they tried to decipher the curse.

“I didn’t realize that witch was so talented,” Wong said. “This is a very complicated curse.”

“Where is the witch?”

“Locked away. She’ll be of no assistance.”

“I didn’t think she would be,” Stephen said, helping Tony sit up. He conjured another butterfly, lips twitching in a smile at the boy’s excited laughter.

“Do we have any kids’ clothes lying around?” Stephen asked.

“Should be some in the storage room. Bottom drawer,” Wong said.

“I’ll go get them,” Stephen said, turning to walk away. He got as far as the door when Tony let out a terrified wail.

Stephen spun, facing the boy with wide eyes. Tony’s face was screwed up in terror, small hands reaching for Stephen. It wasn’t the scream of a child who didn’t want someone to go away; it was the scream of someone truly afraid.

Stephen crossed the room and pulled Tony into his arms. The boy clung to him, cries quieting as Stephen shushed him softly.

Wong stared at them. “I will go get the clothing,” he said, leaving Stephen to comfort Tony.

Stephen frowned at the boy in his arms. Tony looked at him, blinking big, tear filled, brown eyes.

“Attached to me, are you?” Stephen muttered. It was going to be difficult if Tony wouldn’t let him out of his sight. He bounced Tony on his hip, brushing his knuckles over Tony’s chubby cheeks. He was the Sorcerer Supreme. He couldn’t drop everything to babysit Tony Fucking Stark. 

Tony gave him a tentative smile, tear stains on his cheeks.

“Step?” Tony asked.

“What?” Stephen said. “I don’t speak two year old.”

“Steph?” Tony tried again, touching his face.

“I think he’s trying to say your name,” FRIDAY said.

Stephen stared at Tony. “Stephen?” he asked.

Tony smiled, petting Stephen’s goatee. “Ste-phen,” he said slowly.

“Oh, hell,” Stephen said. Did Tony have all his memories? Was he a grown man trapped in a toddler’s body, or was he a true toddler? Would he remember all this? Could he talk? Stephen hadn’t told the toddler his name. What if he did remember everything? Would that change how they worked with the curse?

Wong’s return pulled him out of his half panicked thoughts. Wong had a striped shirt and a pair of pants in his hand.

“Hopefully these fit. We don’t need anyone seeing those scars.”

Together, the two men got Tony dressed. The boy seemed to think it was a delightful game, laughing and pushing the offending articles away. Finally, they managed to get the clothes on him. They fit well enough.

“How often am I going to have to change that diaper?” Stephen asked suddenly.

“You won’t,” Wong said. “Magic, remember? It gets rid of the waste.”

“Of course we have magic diapers,” Stephen said, picking Tony back up.

Wong watched them for a moment, focusing on Tony. This boy, this child, this was Tony Stark? 

“It’s a complicated curse, with many layers,” Wong said. “We could reverse the part that made him young, but—”

“But we have no way of knowing what that will do to him,” Stephen said, conjuring another butterfly for Tony to play with. He rolled his eyes as the boy stuffed the butterfly in his mouth. He wasn’t sure if that was just a toddler being a toddler, or Tony being Tony. Sometimes Tony Stark did act like a child.

“Exactly,” Wong said, nodding.

“So what, Stark gets a do over? That’ll be fun to explain,” Stephen said, calling another butterfly much to Tony’s delight.

“We can reverse the full curse,” Wong said. “But it will take time. We need to remove all elements of the curse at once, so we need to figure out each element.”

Stephen held his hand over Tony’s chest. “Besides making him younger I can’t detect another active part of the curse.”

“It seems that the other parts activate when we try to reverse the aging one,” Wong said.

Stephen sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

“So what? We’re stuck with a two year old Tony Stark for the foreseeable future?” Stephen asked.

“No,” Wong said, picking up a book and looking right at Stephen. “ _You’re_ going to be stuck with a two year old Tony Stark for the foreseeable future.”

With that, Wong walked out of the room, leaving Stephen staring at the toddler in his arms.

“You’re going to have to explain this to Ms. Potts,” FRIDAY said in Stephen’s ear. Stephen sighed, bowing his head slightly. He didn’t fancy telling Pepper Potts that her former fiancé was now a two year old. At least they weren’t engaged to be married anymore. 

Tony reached up and patted Stephen’s cheek, smiling widely at him. Stephen smiled back. 

“Never boring around you, is it, Tony?” Stephen said.

“Stephen!” Tony cried happily, hugging him.

“No, life is never boring around the boss,” FRIDAY said.

“Well, now your boss is officially the Boss Baby,” Stephen said.

“That was awful,” FRIDAY replied. “My humor matrix is deleting itself out of sheer terribleness.”

“Oh, shut up,” Stephen said. “Who taught you to be sassy?”

“Who do you think?” FRIDAY asked sweetly.

“Shut up!” Tony said, grinning.

“Oh, boy,” Stephen said. He shifted Tony so he could open a portal. Tony watched in awe, reaching for the orange sparks.

“Don’t touch,” Stephen said, cradling Tony carefully. He stepped through the portal into Stark’s lab.

Tony looked around with wide eyes, a slow grin spreading across his face.

Stephen said a silent prayer to any higher power listening.

His life was about to get infinitely more interesting.


	2. I didn't know you had a kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper has a minor crisis when she sees Tony, Stephen becomes a consultant for Stark Industries, Tony hates yogurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments! This story is so much fun to write, and I'm glad you're all enjoying it. I hope you enjoy this chapter. 
> 
> not beta-ed

Stephen Strange wasn’t great with kids. He didn’t have a lot of experience with children. He had been a top neurosurgeon, more concerned with his reputation than starting a family. He didn’t have time for a family. Christine had often told him he didn’t have time for anyone but himself and his ego.

After the accident that had cost him his hands, he definitely hadn’t interacted with children, and then between training at Kamar-Taj, defeating Dormammu, sending Thor and Loki on their merry way, and defeating Thanos, children hadn’t been at the top of his list of worries.

So why was he the one stuck with a two year old Tony Stark?

Tony sat on one of the workbenches in his lab, playing with a couple of blue butterflies Stephen had summoned. He wore mismatched, ill-fitting clothes; the only ones they’d had at Kamar-Taj.

“What am I supposed to do, FRIDAY?” Stephen asked, rubbing at his temples.

“Don’t ask me, Doc. Boss didn’t give me babysitting subroutines. He gave those to Karen.”

Stephen blinked. “Who the hell is Karen?”

“Peter Parker’s AI,” FRIDAY said.

“Right,” Stephen said. He didn’t honestly care. He kept watching Tony, trying to keep his panic at bay.

Tony was cursed. He was two years old, but Stephen didn’t know if he still had all of his adult memories, or if he was a true two year old. He still had all the scars, which looked absolutely horrifying on a two year old.

Stephen glanced up at movement from the corner of the lab. He tensed, ready to leap forward and grab Tony.

“It’s just the bots,” FRIDAY said. Stephen forced himself to relax, watching as the bot moved to the table, investigating the toddler sitting on it.

Tony saw Dum-E and his face lit up. He reached for the bot, nearly tumbling off the table. The Cloak made sure he didn’t fall, wrapped around the boy’s waist.

Tony cooed at the bot, patting Dum-E on the head. Stephen couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face.

“What’s that one’s name?” Stephen asked FRIDAY, glad he could take the glasses off in the lab.

“Dum-E,” FRIDAY said.

Stephen nodded and walked forward. Tony grinned up at him, still petting the bot.

“Dum-E,” Stephen said, touching the bot next to Tony’s small hand.

“Dum-E!” Tony said. “Dum-E shut up?”

Stephen groaned as Dum-E sagged sadly.

“Look, you hurt his feelings,” Stephen said, patting the bot.

“Dum-E sad?”

“Yes, Dum-E sad,” Stephen said. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Maybe this was a dream, or he had been transported to a different dimension. Maybe he had finally snapped and lost his mind.

Tony looked at Dum-E, gently petting the grasping fingers. The bot twisted those fingers, making the boy smile. While Tony was distracted, FRIDAY ran scans on him. 

“He seems healthy, Doctor Strange,” FRIDAY said, bringing up a holographic representation of the boy.

Stephen’s eyes ran over it, quickly looking over old scars and injuries. He had read the papers, seen the footage. He knew what Tony had been through. It amazed him that the man had survived any of it, let alone all of it.

“No fresh injuries,” Stephen said, turning the hologram. He heard a loud clatter behind him and spun.

“Don’t drop him!” he said. “Stark has enough brain damage as it is!”

Tony hung from Dum-E’s grasping arm by his leg, looking perplexed and angry. He let out an indignant wail, face red and tears gathering in his eyes. The Cloak darted around the bot and boy, trying to grab him. Dum-E backed up, taking Tony out of the reach of the Cloak.

Tony’s cries echoed around the lab.

“Steph! Stephen!” Tony wailed.

Stephen sighed and walked forward, taking the boy from Dum-E. “You’re clearly not a babysitting bot,” Stephen muttered, resting Tony on his hip.

Tony’s face was still screwed up as he cried, great heaving sobs mixed with Stephen’s name.

Stephen rubbed his back, bouncing Tony awkwardly on his hip. “Come now, Tony, Dum-E didn’t mean to scare you. He was probably confused.”

Dum-E nodded.

“See?” Stephen said. “He just doesn’t know what to do with you. _I_ don’t know what to do with you.”

Tony sniffed, taking ragged breaths as he slowly calmed down.

“His blood sugar is a bit low,” FRIDAY said quietly.

“Are you hungry?” Stephen asked. “Do you want food?”

Tony nodded solemnly, one hand fisted in the back of Stephen’s hair. He stuck his other hand in his mouth, chewing on his knuckles.

Stephen sighed, gently taking Tony’s saliva covered hand. “You are disgusting,” Stephen said.

Tony grinned at him. Stephen let out a huff of laughter. “Let’s find you food, then.”

“There’s a refrigerator in the corner,” FRIDAY said, lighting it up. Stephen carried the still sniffling Tony over to the fridge. He opened it. It was nearly as empty as the one in the sanctum. And there was something…growing…on the bottom shelf.

“The boss is not a fan of cleaning the fridge,” FRIDAY said.

“Clearly,” Stephen replied dryly. 

“Tony?” a woman called. “I’m coming in, you better be decent!”

“Oh hell,” Stephen said, shutting the fridge.

“Hell,” Tony said, clinging to Stephen’s neck.

“We don’t use those words, Tony,” Stephen said, watching as Pepper Potts walked into the lab.

Pepper slowed to a stop, watching as the Cloak of Levitation waved timidly at her. She waved back, confused.

“Aren’t you usually attached to Doctor Strange?” she asked.

The Cloak gestured to the corner. She turned, eyebrow climbing as she saw Stephen Strange standing in the lab, a toddler on his hip. The toddler had his face buried against Stephen’s neck, and one of Stephen’s hands rubbed gentle circles on the child’s back. 

“I didn’t know you had a kid,” Pepper said slowly. “Does Tony know you brought him here? Does Tony even know you have a kid? Where is Tony anyway?”

Stephen swallowed. He hiked Tony up on his hip. “Can you say hello to Ms. Potts?” Stephen asked. Tony shook his head, hiding his face more against his neck. Pepper thought it was one of the most adorable things she had ever seen.

She didn’t want to admit to the twinge in her chest at the sight. It made her think of how Tony had wanted a child. She couldn’t regret not bringing one into the world, especially given everything that happened after Stephen Strange had waltzed into their life, but the sight of Stephen Strange holding a little boy in his arms made her think of what might had been.

“Pepper is a friend,” Stephen said to Tony, watching the flash of sadness cross Pepper’s face. He thought he knew what she was thinking.

Tony finally lifted his head from Stephen’s shoulder, looking at Pepper and giving a timid wave.

Pepper dropped her coffee.

The Cloak caught it right before it hit the ground, setting the mug carefully on the workbench.

“Tony?” Pepper asked, covering her mouth. She knew those eyes. It was, of course, entirely conceivable that Tony had a few love children scattered around the world, but not one this young. He hadn’t cheated on her, she knew that. She trusted him, she loved him, she just hadn’t been able to love Iron Man the same way she had Tony Stark.

Tony buried his face back against Stephen, sniffing. 

“Shh, she’s not mad,” Stephen said, bouncing him lightly. He nodded at Pepper, slowly walking closer to her. Pepper watched, slowly lowering her hand.

“Say hi to Pepper, Tony,” Stephen said. Tony lifted his head again, brown eyes wet with tears.

“Hi, Pep,” Tony said, hiccupping after her name.

“Hello, Tony,” Pepper whispered, her eyes wide.

“Will you let her hold you?” Stephen asked, looking at the boy in his arms. Tony shook his head, clinging to Stephen harder. “Okay, okay,” Stephen said, half rolling his eyes. He looked at Pepper.

“I think he’s hungry,” Stephen said apologetically.

Pepper was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Stephen was holding a two year old Tony. She shook her head.

“I have a banana and yogurt in my office. He’s welcome to them, _if_ you tell me just what the hel—heck is going on.”

Stephen’s lips twitched. “I can do that.”

The Cloak handed Stephen Tony’s glasses again, and Stephen sighed and put them back on. The Cloak settled over Stephen’s shoulders. Tony reached for it, grabbing a handful of the collar. Stephen patted Dum-E on the head as he walked by, following Pepper out of the lab. Tony waved at Dum-E, and the bot waved back.

Pepper led him to the elevator, unable to tear her eyes away from Tony. He kept sneaking glances at her, hiding his face in Stephen’s shoulder when he was caught. Tony lifted his head again, flashing her a quick smile before hiding again. The next time he lifted his head, she stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh with delight. Stephen smiled into Tony’s hair as the doors slid open.

“He started flirting early, obviously,” Stephen said dryly. Pepper threw her head back and laughed.

“This way,” Pepper said, striding down the hall, heels clicking against the tile. Stephen followed, the Cloak billowing out impressively behind him. Tony waved at a few people as they passed, making those people look twice. It was rare to see a child here.

Pepper locked the door to her office behind them, opening her small fridge and pulling out a yogurt and a spoon, and she grabbed a banana out of a drawer. Stephen sat in one of the chairs across from Pepper’s desk, Tony on his lap. 

Tony looked around with interest, gnawing on his knuckles again. Pepper peeled the banana and handed it to Stephen. Stephen thanked her and broke off a small chunk, handing it to Tony.

Tony took it with both hands, mushing it between his fingers and grinning.

“Eat it,” Stephen said, guiding Tony’s hand to his mouth. Tony stuck the mushed banana in his mouth, smacking his lips.

“Talk,” Pepper said, sitting next to them. 

Stephen handed Tony another chunk of banana, steadying the boy on his lap. “A dimension hopping witch showed up in Central Park. I had things mostly under control, but…”

“But Iron Man showed up?” Pepper asked, watching Tony eat.

“Iron Man showed up,” Stephen confirmed. “The witch threw something at him, and he fell. FRIDAY said that they both blacked out. The Cloak caught them, and I subdued the witch. When Wong took the witch away, I ran to check on Tony. The suit retracted and…” Stephen gestured at the toddler in his lap. “Tony was two.”

“Is it permanent?” Pepper asked, tearing open the yogurt. Tony watched her, sucking his fingers clean of the banana.

“It’s a curse,” Stephen said, “we can remove it, but there are many layers to it. We could’ve taken the part off that is making him young, but we don’t know how it would affect him.”

Pepper dipped the spoon into the yogurt, gathering some and holding the spoon out to Tony. Tony opened his mouth, taking the yogurt. He swallowed, making a disgusted face.

“No!” Tony yelled, pushing the yogurt away.

Stephen stifled his chuckle, and Pepper rolled her eyes. “Fine, more for me,” Pepper said, taking a bite of the yogurt. Tony watched her suspiciously, sure she was going to try to feed him more. Stephen broke off another chunk of the banana, handing it to Tony. Tony crammed it in his mouth.

“Wong is having the students at Kamar-Taj look for solutions,” Stephen said. He’d contact Wong later to make sure it was actually happening. Actually…

“FRIDAY, can you send a message to Wong about that?”

“Sure thing, Doc,” FRIDAY said. 

“Thanks,” Stephen said, handing Tony the last of the banana. He could get used to the AI. She was super helpful.

“Wong said that of course he is looking for a solution, he can’t have you babysitting Tony Stark forever. You have a job to do,” FRIDAY said.

Stephen rolled his eyes, taking a napkin from Pepper and wiping Tony’s face. “I’m not even going to answer that,” Stephen muttered. 

Pepper watched as Tony stood up, balancing on Stephen’s thighs and patting at Stephen’s cheeks. Stephen smiled at him.

“Where did he get those clothes?” Pepper asked. Tony wouldn’t be caught dead in a striped shirt and shorts.

“Selection was limited at Kamar-Taj, and I don’t exactly have the money to go out and buy him new ones,” Stephen said, keeping one hand near Tony to make sure he didn’t fall.

Pepper stood up and walked around her desk, sitting down. She quickly typed, and then pulled out a locked drawer. She handed a black credit card across to Stephen, the Stark Industries logo across it.

“You’re now listed as a consultant for SI,” Pepper said. “No limit on it and it’s in your name. Feel free to get him whatever he needs, and whatever _you_ need for the duration of this.”

Stephen blinked, looking a little surprised. It had been a long time since he’d had unlimited money to spend. 

He wanted to give it back, Pepper could see it.

“Look, Doctor, Stephen,” she said, “I can tell that Tony is attached to you. I’d offer to babysit, but something tells me he won’t leave you.”

“He screamed when I tried to leave in Kamar-Taj,” Stephen said. “But it didn’t seem like a scream of anger that I was leaving. He was scared.”

Tony hugged Stephen’s neck, little arms tight around him. Stephen rubbed his back, watching Pepper watch them.

“Well, he trusts you,” Pepper said. “You’re one of the few he does trust.”

Stephen tilted his head. “Tony and I hardly interact.”

“But he still trusts you,” Pepper said. “For everything you did during Thanos, on Titan and beyond.” Her voice was gentle. Stephen dropped his eyes. He wondered if she knew… 

Pepper just smiled at him. “You’re doing great so far.”

“It’s hardly been three hours,” Stephen pointed out, moving his head back so Tony would stop trying to stick his fingers in Stephen’s mouth.

Pepper just smiled, then settled in for a serious discussion. “Do we go public with this?” she asked quietly, watching as Tony petted Stephen’s goatee.

“Absolutely not,” Stephen said immediately. He hugged Tony to him and the boy grinned happily, cuddling close to him. “Tony’s a target as an adult. If word gets out that he’s a defenseless two year old, I imagine kidnapping attempts will go through the roof. He’s had enough happen to him. He deserves to just be happy, even with all this…crap going on.”

“I agree,” Pepper said, typing quickly at her computer. “I’ll put out that Tony went on sabbatical, but only if someone asks. We’ll keep it quiet.”

Stephen nodded in agreement. “Do you have a water?”

“Yes, of course,” Pepper said, handing Stephen a bottle. He held it in one trembling hand, holding it out to the Cloak. The Cloak twisted the lid off, and then helped Stephen steady it for Tony to drink. Tony grasped the water bottle carefully, the Cloak covering his hands.

“Thank you,” Stephen whispered to the Cloak. He would splashed water all over Tony’s face if he had tried to hold the water bottle on his own. The Cloak patted his cheek fondly. 

Tony finished what he wanted of the water and curled into Stephen’s chest, eyes slowly drifting shut. Stephen held him close, watching as Pepper continued to type.

“We do have a daycare at Stark Tower for employees with children. I’ve registered him as Tony Strange,” Pepper said.

“What?!” Stephen yelped. Tony jumped, whining as he was pulled from his almost sleep. “Sorry,” Stephen whispered to Tony, soothing him. He looked at Pepper. “What do you mean, ‘Tony Strange’?”

“You said yourself that he can’t be Tony Stark. You don’t even have to use the daycare, but it’s there if you need it. Just say he’s your nephew or something.”

“I’m not comfortable leaving him alone with others,” Stephen said after a moment. “Not yet, not while the curse is new.”

Pepper just smiled softly at him. “Speaking of that, will he be staying with you at the Sanctum?”

Stephen was silent for a moment. “I don’t think having a two year old in a sanctum full of magical artifacts that could very literally eat him is a good idea.”

“Maybe not, then,” Pepper said. “Stay in Tony’s penthouse in the tower.” She tilted her head in thought. “I was going to say he would be comfortable there, but I’m not sure. Would he be? Does he remember…everything?”

“I’m not sure,” Stephen said honestly. “He knew my name without me telling him, we think, but he’s been acting like a normal two year old.” Stephen shrugged. “Until I can confirm otherwise, I think he’s just…young.”

“Can you read his mind or something?” Pepper asked.

“No,” Stephen said. “Even if I could, I wouldn’t. Not to Tony. He doesn’t—didn’t like magic. I would never break the sanctity of his mind. He would hate me.”

Pepper nodded. “Then stay at the penthouse.” 

“I’ve upgraded your access, Doctor,” FRIDAY said. “You now have access to the suite levels in Stark Tower and all related areas, as well as the compound. You essentially have the same permissions as the boss, but I will keep some of his projects under lock and key.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, FRIDAY,” Stephen said, smiling slightly.

He looked back at the credit card resting on the edge of the desk. Pepper saw him looking. “Like I said, use it for whatever you need. If the Sanctum needs something, you need something, Tony needs something, it’s fine. Consider it an advanced thank you from Tony for taking care of him.”

Stephen took a deep breath and finally nodded, taking the card in hand.

“I’d like to stay with you, Doctor,” FRIDAY said. “I trust you, but I’d feel better if I could keep tabs on him.”

“Of course, FRIDAY,” Stephen said. “Do I have to wear the glasses everywhere?” 

“No,” Pepper said, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a brand new Starkphone. “This is one of the special models Tony made as a module for FRIDAY.”

Stephen took it. “Thank you. I’ll bring the glasses with me so I can read any scans you do of him, but the last thing I want is someone thinking I stole them.”

Pepper nodded. “Smart move.” She sat back. “We are going to have to tell Rhodey and the Avengers.”

Stephen made a face. “Great,” he said dryly. “Maybe after I get new clothes for Tony?”

“I’ll them in for a meeting in the next couple of days,” Pepper said. “Tony is known to disappear for days. They won’t think anything of it.”

Stephen nodded, pulling Tony closer to him. The boy’s mouth was open, breathing slowly and deeply. He carded his fingers through downy hair.

“FRIDAY, please show me a picture of Stark’s penthouse,” Stephen said. FRIDAY obliged, giving Stephen a moment to study the picture. “Thank you.”

Stephen stood up, Tony in his arms. “I should get going then. I’ll let him nap, then go buy him whatever he needs.” The Cloak picked up the credit card and the cell phone.

“Of course,” Pepper said, standing up. She walked around her desk, standing closer to Stephen than she ever had before. She gently touched Tony’s head and kissed his temple. “Thank you, Stephen, for taking care of him.”

Stephen nodded. He felt marginally responsible for Tony ending up in this position. He would do whatever he had to get Tony back to his normal self. With a quick adjustment, Stephen summoned a portal to the penthouse.

He waved goodbye to Pepper. “I’ll keep in touch.”

“Good luck,” Pepper said, watching them step through. She stared at the spot that the portal had been, shaking her head. She hoped, for Stephen’s sake, that they could break the curse quickly.

:::

Stephen stepped through the portal to Tony Stark’s bedroom. He set the toddler gently on the bed, not bothering to hid the smile as Tony sighed in his sleep, snuggling into the mattress.

Stephen looked around. He needed something else to wear. He couldn’t go shopping in his sorcerer garb without drawing some serious attention. He felt a little odd going through Tony’s dresser, looking for something that might fit him. He thought about opening a portal to grab something from the sanctum, but he needed to do laundry.

He finally found an old Stark Industries sweatshirt, stretched with repeated wear. He pulled his tunic off and pulled the sweatshirt over his head. It smelled like Tony.

He sat on the bed, pulling out the Starkphone. He couldn’t easily write a list of what Tony needed, but he could dictate it to FRIDAY.

With one more glance at Tony, Stephen began thinking of what Tony would need.

Once Tony woke up, they’d go shopping.

Stephen was quite sure shopping with a toddler was going to make fighting Thanos look downright easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are love! Please tell me what you think!


	3. Stark Raving Hazelnuts and Avengers Marketing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen takes Tony for his favorite ice cream flavor and then they go shopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said short chapters but this keeps growing. Oh well. I'm having a lot of fun with it. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story! Thank you all so much for your kind comments!
> 
> not beta-ed.

Stephen woke to a child’s scream. He sat up, glowing orange mandalas sparking into existence. He looked around wildly. 

The toddler next to him was screaming, clawing at his chest.

Stephen remembered. Tony was two. He had been hoping that it had all been a rather crazy dream. He sent the mandalas away and moved closer.

“Shh, Tony, I’m right here,” Stephen said quietly. Tony kept screaming, twisting the shirt in little hands.

The Cloak hovered around them uncertainly, seemingly wanting to reach out and wrap itself around Tony.

“Tony,” Stephen whispered, his hand hovering over Tony’s chest. He gently rested his hand against the heaving chest.

The touch seemed to snap Tony out of his terror, wide brown eyes locking on Stephen’s. Tony let out a wail, holding his arms up to Stephen. Stephen pulled the boy against his chest, rocking him back and forth.

Tony’s panicked sobs slowly started to quiet as Stephen stood up and walked around the room, bouncing Tony on his hip. Stephen talked quietly to him, jumping from topic to topic, jumbled thoughts racing through his mind.

He thought of the way Tony had clawed at his chest, at the scars. It seemed to support the hypothesis that he still had all his memories, or at least dreamed of them. It was a sobering thought. No two year old should have to deal with Tony Stark’s nightmares.

Tony Stark shouldn’t have to deal with his own nightmares. The man had been through more than most people went through in four lifetimes.

Tony finally quieted, sniffing into Stephen’s shoulder. Stephen sat back on the corner of the bed, Tony balanced in his lap. Tony hugged him tightly around the neck as Stephen rubbed his back.

“FRIDAY, how long were we out?” Stephen asked. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep after making a shopping list, but Tony’s quiet breaths and the sheer peacefulness of the room had pulled him under.

“You were asleep for less than an hour,” FRIDAY said. “The boss a little more than two.”

“Thanks,” Stephen said, brushing the tears off Tony’s cheeks. “Let’s get you cleaned up, hmm?”

Tony sniffed, clinging to Stephen as the sorcerer walked into the bathroom. He set Tony on the counter, grabbing a washcloth and getting it wet with warm water. He squeezed it out as best he could, ignoring the trembling in his hands. He smiled softly at Tony as he wiped the snot and tears off the boy’s face.

“Better?” Stephen asked.

Tony nodded, eyes still red. Stephen rinsed the washcloth and looked at his reflection. His hair stuck up oddly and he looked tired. He scrubbed at his own face and quickly used magic to smooth his hair. 

“Doc?” FRIDAY’s voice came from the bedroom. Stephen picked Tony up and carried him back to the bedroom.

“Yes, FRIDAY?” Stephen asked, setting Tony back on the bed. Tony slid off the bed and tottered towards the window on unsteady legs. Stephen kept an eye on him as the boy wandered around the room.

“Happy Hogan is on his way up with a diaper bag. Ms. Potts told him what happened and had him get some essentials for you.”

“Wonderful,” Stephen said, standing up at the knock to the door. Stephen started walking out the bedroom, stopping at Tony’s panicked cry. Stephen sighed and turned, scooping the boy into his arms.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into Tony’s hair. Tony clung to his neck with one hand, gnawing on the knuckles of his other.

“Sorry,” Tony mumbled. Stephen’s heart broke a little at that.

“It’s okay, Tony,” Stephen said.

“Doctor Strange?” Happy yelled through the door. “Pepper said you were here.”

“Coming,” Stephen called back. He shifted Tony to one arm, the boy’s legs on either side of his waist. He opened the door.

Happy’s mouth fell open at the sight of a red faced toddler in Stephen’s arms. “I was kind of hoping Pepper was joking.”

“I wish it was a joke,” Stephen said, stepping back. Tony watched Happy walk in. “Say hello to Happy, Tony.”

Tony took his hand out of his mouth. “Hi,” he said quietly, quickly burying his face back in Stephen’s neck.

“Nightmares,” Stephen said.

Happy nodded, clearly unsure of what to do. He held out a designer diaper bag. “Pepper put this together. She said it should get you started until you get whatever you need.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said, taking the bag and setting it on the table. He sat down, Tony on his lap. Happy watched, standing awkwardly as Stephen pulled a pack of pull-ups, some snacks, a new shirt for Tony, a pair of little shoes, and an Iron Man sippy cup. Stephen laughed, setting it on the table. Tony threw one of the shoes across the room, grinning when it hit the wall.

“We don’t throw things,” Stephen said, chuckling quietly. Happy picked up the shoe and put it back on the table.

“I’ve seen Mr. Stark through some weird things since he came from Afghanistan,” Happy said, looking at his two year old boss. “But I gotta say, this takes the cake.”

Tony smiled up at Happy, waving slightly. Happy waved back, bemused.

“I imagine,” Stephen said. He picked up the new shirt and tapped Tony’s nose. “Let’s get you into this shirt. It’ll fit you better. Arms up.” Tony held his arms up and Stephen pulled the old striped shirt from Kamar-Taj off. He took a moment to check Tony’s chest. The scars looked the same. He’d been worried after Tony’s nightmare that he’d hurt himself again. 

Stephen pulled the perfectly respectable black tee shirt on Tony, tugging it down over his belly. “There, fits better.”

“Pepper knows clothes,” Happy said. He dug into his pocket. “She also wrote down the sizes she thought Tony would be.” Stephen took the slip of paper from Happy, looking at Pepper’s careful handwriting. 

“Tell Pepper I said thanks,” Stephen said, pocketing the paper. He wouldn’t need the pull-ups for Tony given the magic diaper, but he’d keep them on hand just in case.

Happy nodded, still enthralled by Tony. Tony reached up, patting Happy’s hand. Happy knelt, smiling at him.

“Hey there,” Happy said.

Tony cooed and patted Happy’s face. He turned and looked up at Stephen, grinning. Happy laughed, tickling Tony’s stomach. Tony squealed with laughter, nearly kicking Happy in the face.

Tony grinned happily, settling back in Stephen’s lap as Happy stood up.

“I have to get back to Pepper,” he said, “but call if you need anything. Pepper said he’s not keen on being away from you, but we’ll do what we can to help.”

“And I appreciate it,” Stephen said. Happy leaned over and said goodbye to Tony.

“Bye bye!” Tony yelled as Happy walked out, Happy’s laugh ringing around the room as the door shut.

Stephen took the sippy cup over to the sink, setting Tony on the counter so he could wash it out. “What do we have in this fridge? Hopefully nothing alive.”

He opened the fridge and was pleasantly surprised to see a bottle of apple juice. He checked the date and poured it into the cup and screwed on the lid. He handed it to Tony, watching as the boy drank it.

“Done,” Tony said, handing it back. 

“Thank you,” Stephen said, filling it again and putting it in the diaper bag. He scooped Tony back into his arms, smiling at him.

“Well, what do you say we go shopping?”

“Okay!” Tony said. Stephen grabbed the shoes Pepper had sent over and struggled to get them on Tony’s feet. Tony kicking his legs certainly wasn’t helping.

“You are such a little monster,” Stephen said. Tony giggled at him. Stephen laughed and packed the designer diaper bag and picked Tony up. “Ready to go?”

He grabbed the Starkphone and slipped it into the bag, dropping Tony’s sunglasses in as an afterthought. He shifted his grip on Tony and opened a portal into an alley. The Cloak folded itself into a scarf and wrapped around Stephen’s neck. 

Tony reached for the portal again. “No touching,” Stephen said, stepping through. He closed the portal and made sure he had a good grip on Tony and the bag. They stepped out onto the streets of New York. Tony fisted his hand in the scarf, laughing as it wrapped around his hand.

“I thought we’d grab ice cream before going shopping,” Stephen said, smiling slightly as Tony’s face lit up. Stephen walked into the nearby ice cream shop, the bell ringing over the door.

“Good afternoon, Doctor Strange!” the girl behind the counter said. 

“Good afternoon, Codi,” Stephen said. He came here often when he had a couple extra dollars.

“Didn’t know you had a kid,” she said, grabbing a cup. “Your usual?”

“Two scoops this time, please,” Stephen said, hiking Tony up higher on his hip. Tony pressed one hand against the glass, watching with wide eyes. “You are getting your grubby little hand prints all over the glass,” Stephen said with a huff.

“He’s fine,” Codi said, setting the cup of ice cream on the counter. “Anything else for you, Doctor?”

Stephen dug into the diaper bag and pulled out the credit card. “That should do it.” Codi took the card.

“Stark Industries?”

“I’m a consultant for them,” Stephen said. 

“And the kid?”

“Watching him for a friend,” Stephen said. Codi hummed, handing the card back. “Thank you.” Stephen put the card back in the bag and grabbed the ice cream. He waved as they walked out to the outdoor seating.

“I’m going to have to come up with a better story for you,” Stephen whispered in Tony’s ear as he sat down. People would get suspicious if he kept saying he was watching him for a friend. He put the diaper bag between his feet and Tony on his lap. Stephen stuck the spoon in and took a bite. Tony gave him a scandalized look.

“Hey, I paid for it, I get first bite,” Stephen said. The Cloak smacked Stephen’s head. “Okay, technically you paid for it with that nice credit card.” He took another spoonful and held it out for Tony. 

Tony opened his mouth and took the bite, grinning happily.

“Better than yogurt, right?” Stephen said, taking another bite before offering more to Tony.

They sat there, watching people walk by. People smiled at them, thinking they were a father and son out for ice cream. Tony happily ate every bit Stephen offered him.

Stephen leaned over Tony, taking another bite. “I still say this is a bit chalky.”

Tony blew a raspberry at him and Stephen gave him a scandalized look.

“I’ll have you know I got this for you, you little monster.”

Tony blew another raspberry, making himself laugh. Stephen couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped his own mouth. He took another bite and fed Tony the rest. He heard a buzzing coming from the diaper bag and pulled out the Starkphone. 

“A text from FRIDAY,” Stephen said to Tony. Tony ignored him, sticking his fingers in the cup of melted ice cream. He crammed his hand in his mouth, sucking the ice cream off. 

Stephen rolled his eyes and looked at the phone.

“Why aren’t you just talking?” he asked quietly.

**You don’t have the earpiece in, and a phone having a fully cognizant conversation is a dead giveaway of Tony Stark,** appeared on the screen.

“Makes sense.”

**I thought you didn’t like Stark Raving Hazelnuts,** FRIDAY said.

Stephen snorted. “I never said I didn’t like it. I said I think it’s a bit chalky.”

**And yet the girl at the counter asked if you wanted your usual and gave you Stark Raving Hazelnuts without you saying a word.** Stephen could practically hear the sarcasm dripping from the text.

“Sass. So much sass. I like it, okay?” Stephen said, cheeks flushed slightly. He thought he heard FRIDAY laugh as he dropped the phone back into the diaper bag. He looked at Tony and groaned. Tony’s face was covered with melted ice cream. Tony grinned up at him, clapping sticky hands together happily. 

“Heathen,” Stephen said, pulling out a pack of wet wipes. Tony made a face, pushing Stephen’s hand away. “We’re not leaving until you’re a little more presentable.”

Tony gave in with a dramatic sigh, sticking his tongue out as Stephen wiped his face. He grumbled quietly as Stephen carefully wiped each sticky finger.

“Such a mess,” Stephen said, throwing away the cup and wet wipes. Tony held his arms up to Stephen.

“Up!”

“Demanding little thing,” Stephen said, lifting Tony into his arms. He grabbed the diaper bag and headed back to the alley. Tony kept his arms around Stephen’s neck as he made the portal.

“Now, I realize you’ve probably never shopped at a Target in your life,” Stephen said, stepping through the portal, “but that’s where we’re shopping today. I’m not getting you designer baby clothes, especially if you’re stuck like this for a while. You’ll grow out of them.”

Tony looked around as they walked out of the alley to the front of the store. Stephen grabbed a shopping cart and quickly used the disinfectant wipes to clean it. “In you get,” Stephen said, putting Tony in the seat. He buckled him in, tapping Tony’s nose when he was secure.

Stephen put the diaper bag in the cart and handed Tony the sippy cup. Tony clutched it with both hands, grinning at the Iron Man decal on it. 

“Ego,” Stephen murmured, pushing the cart into the store. He paused, pulling the Starkphone out and resting it next to Tony’s hip.

“Can you show me the list, FRIDAY?” he asked.

The phone lit up, the shopping list Stephen and FRIDAY had put together showing up on the screen. 

“Thanks,” Stephen said, walking towards the toiletries section. He looked over the shampoo, grabbing a cheaper one for himself. He felt bad for buying stuff for himself with the credit card Pepper had given him, but he did need some essentials.

Tony smiled toothily at him, banging the sippy cup against the handle of the cart.

“Alright, now for you,” Stephen said, stopping in front of the selection of children and baby shampoo. “I had no idea there were so many. Where do I even start?”

Tony kept banging his cup against the cart, grinning at the noise it made and ignoring Stephen for the moment. 

Stephen’s lips twitched in a smile as he picked up a bottle of baby shampoo with Spider-Man on the bottle. He popped open the cap with the heel of his hand and sniffed it, gagging.

“Yeah, not that one,” he said. His eyes moved over the selection and he snorted at the sheer number of Avengers themed toiletry items. He picked up the Iron Man bottle and opened it, sniffing. It was a little less offensive. He held it out to Tony.

“What about this one?”

Tony recoiled at the smell, making a face.

“Agreed,” Stephen said, putting it back. “Why do they think kids want to smell like…blueberry bear blast? What the heck is a blueberry bear and why? Why?” He ran his fingers through his hair and picked up a normal looking bottle. It said unscented, so he sniffed it warily. It was fine, at least to him.

“Here,” he said, holding it under Tony’s nose. “This one?”

Tony nodded, trying to grab the bottle from him.

“Not for eating,” Stephen said, snapping the lid closed and tossing it in the cart. He put a bottle of baby powder in next; he didn’t know if Tony would need it, but he’d rather have it than not. As he passed the wipes he grabbed more and put them in the cart. He grabbed the Avengers Band-Aids, figuring that Tony would most likely get some cuts and scrapes. 

He checked the list, smiling when he noticed that FRIDAY had crossed off the items he grabbed. “Thanks,” he said, pushing the cart to the grocery section. He chose some simple snacks and sandwich stuff. FRIDAY had told him that Tony had a delivery service that would bring more necessary groceries; he just wanted to cover the basics.

“Alright, clothes. For the record, I hate shopping for clothes,” Stephen said, maneuvering the cart past other late afternoon shoppers. Tony waved at some of them, flashing them winning smiles.

“You are such a little flirt,” Stephen said, slowing as he passed some cheap men’s shirts. He stared at them for a moment. He still didn’t feel right using the card from Pepper to buy himself things, but the shirts he did have were getting thin and raggedy from repeated wear and washing. He couldn’t really wear his tunic everywhere. After Thanos, people were recognizing him as Doctor Strange, Wizard Friend of the Avengers (he hated that article with a burning passion and had burned every copy of the Bugle he had seen on sight for a week.) 

With a guilty sigh, he put two plain shirts in the cart, one a deep burgundy and the other navy blue. He walked past the rest of the men’s section, ignoring how much he really needed a new pair of jeans.

Tony watched him with interest, reaching out to touch Stephen’s hands where they wrapped loosely around the handle. Stephen brought his attention back to the boy.

“Sorry, got lost in my thoughts,” Stephen said quietly, turning his hand so Tony could grasp his finger. Tony gave him that winning smile again.

“Stephen,” Tony said slowly.

Stephen smiled slightly. “Yeah?”

Tony just smiled back, gripping Stephen’s finger in his small hand. The phone buzzed, and Stephen dropped his gaze to it.

**Buy what you need, Doc,** appeared on the screen. **Ms. Potts said to get what you need as well, not just for the boss. If you don’t, I’m just going to order a mass amount of clothing for you have it delivered to the Sanctum.**

“You wouldn’t,” Stephen hissed.

A heart emoji flashed on the screen. Stephen huffed. “Fine. Fine. One pair.”

He turned the cart around, grumbling about sassy AIs. Tony giggled, still holding onto Stephen’s fingers. Stephen looked through the jeans, finding his size and tossing them in the cart.

**Best try them on.**

“I swear you’re enjoying this,” Stephen said, grabbing the pants and pushing the cart the fitting room. He picked Tony up and shoved the phone back in his pocket. He flashed the fitting room attendant a quick smile and disappeared into the room.

“Sit here,” Stephen said, setting Tony on the little bench inside. He took the scarf that was the Cloak in hiding off his neck and dropped it over Tony’s shoulders. The boy cooed happily, twisting his hands in it while Stephen pulled old tennis shoes off. He peeled his jeans off, doing his very best to ignore the fact that this was not how he imagined stripping in front of Tony Stark.

He tried on the new pants, making sure he could sit down in them and doing a few squats for good measure. He yanked them off and put his old pants and shoes back on.

“I hope you’re happy now, FRIDAY,” Stephen said, folding the pants over his arm and picking Tony up.

“I’m bursting with joy,” FRIDAY’s voice came from his pocket.

Stephen laughed, walking back to their cart and settling Tony in the seat again. The Cloak stayed with Tony, letting the boy play with the ends of it. Stephen tossed the pants back into the cart and quickly pushed the cart towards the boys’ section of the store.

“Now, for what we really came for.”

He looked around at the explosion of color, rolling his eyes when he saw the very prominent display of Avengers clothing. He looked right at Tony.

“I see your marketing people are doing their jobs,” he said, chuckling quietly. Tony grinned at him, kicking his feet.

“Well, I guess we have to get you those, don’t we?” Stephen said, stopping by the Avengers display. His eyes ran over the colorful character tees; everyone from Iron Man to Black Panther to Thor to the Hulk. He rifled through the Iron Man tees, finding the size Pepper had written down and holding it up to Tony.

“Think this will fit?”

Tony grabbed the shirt with little fists and tossed it in the cart, laughing.

“Guess so,” Stephen said. He looked at the shirts again, picking out the Spider-Man one. “How about this?”

Tony clapped, grinning widely and pointing at the hero on the shirt.

“Yeah, Spider-Man’s a pretty good kid,” Stephen said, smiling at Tony. “Hulk?”

Tony nodded, trying to make the same angry face the Hulk wore on the shirt. Stephen laughed, adding the shirt to the growing collection. Stephen’s hand paused over the Captain America shirt. It seemed to be the most popular, given that there weren’t very many left. He glanced at Tony, thinking.

He held the shirt up for Tony to inspect. Tony grabbed it and threw it on the ground with a firm “NO.”

“Huh,” Stephen muttered, picking it up and folding it haphazardly before putting it back on the shelf. He didn’t know exactly what had happened between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers during the so called Civil War. He had known about the breakup of the Avengers, and it made him briefly think about the day Bruce Banner had fallen into the Sanctum. He had never asked Tony what had happened. It wasn’t his business and they hadn’t been particularly close after Thanos (which is why he was so confused as to why two year old Tony wouldn’t let him out of his sight. Surely Pepper would be a better choice for this?).

It intrigued him that Tony had so vehemently not wanted the Captain America shirt. It certainly seemed to lend credence to the idea that Tony had at least some of his memories. It made Stephen uneasy for many reasons, some that he couldn’t put a finger on.

Tony frowned at him. “Sorry?”

Stephen ruffled Tony’s dark hair. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said softly. Tony smiled uncertainly at him and Stephen picked up another Spider-Man shirt, making Tony’s smile widen.

Stephen decided to get Tony ten shirts. He grabbed the Black Panther shirt, the Thor shirt, another Iron Man shirt, one group Avengers shirt, the one Guardians of the Galaxy shirt, and the one Doctor Strange shirt, which had made Stephen blush.

“I need to have a word with your marketing team,” Stephen said sternly. “I am not an Avenger.” 

Tony blew a raspberry at him, grinning widely. Stephen moved to the pants, grabbing Tony multiple shorts and pants. He tossed a pair of sandals in to complement the little tennis shoes Tony was wearing.

He saw a set of pajamas hanging on display and froze, a slow grin spreading across his face. He held them out to Tony, the boy squealing with delight.

He tossed the Iron Man footie pajamas into the cart. “Guess you still get to wear your suit,” he said quietly, smiling down at Tony. He grabbed a couple packs of socks for Tony, double checking the list again.

“Now for fun stuff, I guess,” Stephen said, pushing the cart through the aisles and heading for the books and movies. “Now, I know FRIDAY will be able to give us access to any movie we want, so I’m not wasting money on that.” He went to the kids’ books, figuring that Tony didn’t have any in his penthouse. 

He picked up a couple, holding them out to Tony. “Out of these, which one?”

Tony pointed. 

“Ah, _Goodnight Moon_ ,” Stephen said, “good choice.” He tossed it in the cart, letting Tony pick a couple more, including one Avengers story book that Stephen was sure was going to be wildly inaccurate but was very colorful.

“You’re being very good,” Stephen said, rubbing Tony’s cheek. Tony smiled at him, grabbing his hand with both of his. Stephen found he didn’t mind Tony’s fingers on his scars, and the boy seemed fascinated by the lines on his fingers. He let Tony explore his hand, leaning on the cart and just watching him.

After a few minutes, Stephen sighed and gently took his hand back, pushing the cart towards the toys. “While I’m sure you’d be more than willing to play in the lab all day, I think I’d rather get you something a little less dangerous.”

He put a set of building blocks in the cart, a coloring book set, a little kid’s race car set. He didn’t want to get Tony a lot of toys, going on the hope that he wouldn’t be a kid for long.

“Stephen!” Tony said, pointing at a toy. Stephen laughed quietly, picking up the big Spider-Man plush. 

“Here you go,” Stephen said. Tony grinned widely and crushed the plush to his chest, hugging it hard.

“Is Spider-Man your favorite?” Stephen asked. Tony nodded hard, strangling the plush Spider-Man. 

“You want to know a secret?” Stephen asked, leaning over Tony. Tony nodded, eyes solemn. “Iron Man is my favorite,” Stephen whispered in Tony’s ear.

Tony grinned up at him, reaching up to pet Stephen’s goatee. Stephen huffed, dropping his head to nose at Tony’s hair. Tony dropped Spider-Man in favor of wrapping his arms around Stephen’s neck in a hug. Stephen stood up, bringing Tony with him and hugging him close to his chest.

“Doctor Strange? Hey, what are you doing in the toy section?” a voice asked from behind them.

Stephen closed his eyes and said a silent prayer to any listening higher power, turning to face a very confused Peter Parker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are love!


	4. Is He Still Tony Stark Without the Beard? Not According to Peter Parker.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is confused. Stephen is kind of done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. These chapters just keep getting longer, and anyone who's read my stuff shouldn't be surprised. Like, at all. Considering I thought this was originally going to be a one shot, I'm glad it went in a much longer direction. I'm having so much fun with this! 
> 
> not beta-ed

Peter Parker followed his aunt through the store, pushing the cart after her and trying to ignore the fact that his foot really itched. He wasn’t really paying attention to where they were going, his mind stuck on the fact that Mr. Stark was supposed to come over for dinner that night to talk colleges. Peter was both terrified and elated, usual emotions when it came to Mr. Stark. 

Karen had told him that there had been a fight in Central Park that morning, but by the time he got there (stupid school with its stupid rules. Freaking Mr. Stark with HIS stupid rules) there was nothing left but a few over turned trees. He’d gone back to school with a shrug. Mr. Stark hadn’t called for backup so he figured everything had worked out.

He had texted Mr. Stark after school and still hadn’t gotten a reply which was weird, but Peter tried not to let it bother him. Mr. Stark was a busy man, after all, and the really nasty bad guys had gone to ground after Thanos’ defeat. 

“Peter,” Aunt May said. “Peter!” 

“Huh? Yeah, Aunt May?” he asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts.

“Isn’t that Doctor Strange?” she asked, pointing to a man standing in the toy section. Aunt May had met Doctor Strange a few times, after everything had settled after Thanos. She had liked him, always glad to have another person watching out for Peter.

Peter looked at the man in the toy aisle, grinning at the stuffed Spider-Man that had fallen out of the cart (it was so beyond cool that there were action figures and plushies and shirts of him!). The man did look like Doctor Strange, but he didn’t seem like the type of man to buy toys (unlike Mr. Stark, who had every Iron Man toy and collectible, from the cheap knock offs to the really nice, super expensive ones).

“Doctor Strange?” he asked. He saw the man’s shoulders tense. Oh yeah, definitely Doctor Strange. “Hey, what are you doing in the toy section?”

Doctor Strange turned, a resigned look on his face. There was a toddler clinging to his neck, chubby legs on either side of Strange’s hip. The kid’s hand was on Strange’s face, petting his goatee.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had a kid!” Peter said, stepping forward. “Hey there, little guy!” Peter waved at the kid, grinning when the child laughed and waved back, whacking Doctor Strange across the face.

“Ouch, you monster,” Strange said, voice fond. He hiked the boy up higher on his side. “Say hello to Peter.”

“Hi, Pe’er!” the boy yelled.

Peter laughed, missing the surprised look on Doctor Strange’s face as the boy reached for Peter. Peter took the boy in his arms, frowning slightly as he got a closer look at the boy’s eyes.

He knew those eyes. 

He looked up to see Doctor Strange watching them warily, like he was ready to tear the child away from Peter.

“Doctor Strange…how come you didn’t say you had kid?” Peter asked slowly.

“He’s not mine,” Strange said, eyes flicking to May briefly, then checking to see if anyone else was around them.

“What’s his name?” May asked, waving her fingers at the boy in Peter’s arms. The boy smiled back, waving and smacking Peter repeatedly in the shoulder.

“Tony,” Strange said. The boy turned, grinning wide at Strange and reaching out for him. Strange took the child, cradling him close.

Peter stared at him, his mouth falling open. “Are you saying that that boy is Mr. St—ARGH!”

The scarf that had been resting around the boy’s shoulder whipped off and wrapped around Peter’s mouth. He crashed into the end cap full of stuffed animals, struggling with the scarf.

He let out a muffled cry as shaky hands dragged him to his feet. He opened his eyes, and was immediately reminded why Doctor Stephen Strange was not a man to piss off. Aunt May held the bemused looking child as Strange dragged Peter out of the stuffed animals.

“I will explain everything _but not here_!” Strange hissed.

“But—” Peter started.

“No,” Strange said, releasing Peter’s shirt. “Not in public.”

The scarf (Peter was well aware it was actually the Cloak, but it didn’t look like the Cloak he was used to. He hadn’t even known the thing could change shape! Why did Doctor Strange get all the cool stuff?) squeezed itself around Peter’s mouth one more time before soaring back to Tony.

Tony grinned, tangling his little fingers in the ends of the scarf. 

“Thank you,” Stephen said, taking Tony back from May. Tony looked at Peter and pointed at him.

“Pe’er?” Tony asked.

“Yes, that’s Peter,” Stephen said. He knelt and picked up the Spider-Man plush, handing it to Tony. Tony wrapped an arm around its neck, hugging it tightly.

Peter stared in awe. The longer he looked at the kid, the more he could pick out Mr. Stark’s features. And the fact that he was hugging a _Spider-Man_ plush just made him blush like crazy.

“What…” Peter started, silencing himself at the look from Stephen.

“Well, I guess this means Mr. Stark won’t be coming over for dinner tonight,” May said dryly.

“Oh, right,” Peter said, unable to tear his eyes away from the boy. Tony looked at Stephen again, then held his arms out to Peter. Peter took him again, holding him awkwardly under the armpits.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Peter said.

“Obviously,” May said, snorting at the twin bemused expressions on Peter and Tony. “Hold him like this,” she said, quickly readjusting Peter’s grip. Tony sighed, relaxing into the teen’s embrace. Peter nearly missed Stephen Strange’s lips twitch in a smile.

“Was he supposed to come to dinner?” Stephen asked, tossing a few more toys in his cart for good measure.

“Yeah, he wanted to talk colleges with me,” Peter said. To Stephen, it was a reminder of how young Peter truly was. He had been through so much in his young life. Tony smiled at him.

“So weird…” Peter said.

“Yes,” Stephen said dryly. He picked up his phone and looked at the list. He wasn’t sure if they needed anything else. His time shopping for children was very limited. “I don’t know what else, FRIDAY,” he said softly.

“I can give you a list offered from every parenting website on the internet,” FRIDAY said quietly.

“Hi, FRIDAY!” Peter whisper shouted.

“FRIDAY!” Tony repeated, banging his Spider-Man plush against Peter’s chest.

“Yes, hello,” FRIDAY said.

“Let me see,” May said. Stephen handed her the phone and she looked at it and at the items in the cart. “There’s a few more things you need. We can grab them.”

She headed back to the toiletries, followed by Peter with Tony in his arms, and Stephen bringing up the rear. Tony looked back at Stephen, smiling widely at the man. Stephen smiled back, and it seemed to make Tony happy.

He wasn’t sure if Tony recognized Peter, but the boy seemed to trust him. Stephen would take it, thought a part of him worried about Tony’s response to meeting the Avengers.

May put a kid’s toothbrush and toothpaste set in Stephen’s cart, followed by baby sunscreen and lotion.

“You don’t have any diapers in there,” May said, ignoring Peter’s stuttering at the mention of diapers. 

Peter looked at the child in his arms in growing horror. “Oh, Mr. Stark, please don’t pee or poop on me right now.”

Stephen rolled his eyes at Peter. “First, don’t call him Mr. Stark. Second, magical diaper, but I do have extras back at the tower.”

May nodded, grabbing a few more things for Stephen.

“What am I supposed to call him?” Peter asked, glancing at the boy.

“Tony?” Stephen said. “It is his name, you know.”

“I can’t call him that!” Peter said, scandalized. Tony just looked at Peter, grinning and patting his cheeks.

Stephen just sighed, glancing at his phone as it vibrated with another message from FRIDAY.

**Ms. Potts had groceries and some larger items for Tony delivered. Happy Hogan set everything up so no one was in the Tower thinking there’s a kid there now.**

“Send them both my thanks,” Stephen said quietly. A thumbs up emoji flashed on the phone before it went dark. Stephen looked over the items in his cart.

“You should grab him a jacket since it can be cold at night,” May said. “And a hat.” Stephen nodded and followed her back to the kid’s clothes, tossing a light jacket in the cart. Stephen looked over the hats, finally selecting a wide brim boonie hat. 

They headed for the registers, and Tony reached for Stephen again.

“Stephen!” he said.

Stephen took the boy back, holding him close. Tony stroked his goatee, smiling up at him.

“Hello there,” Stephen said. “Back in the cart while I pay?” he asked Tony. Tony nodded and Stephen got the boy back in the seat of the cart.

“Peter, why don’t you help Doctor Strange get all this stuff back to his house?” May asked. The unspoken, ‘then you can find out just what the heck is going on’ was obvious.

“I would appreciate the help,” Stephen said. Juggling Tony and all the bags would’ve been hard enough with healthy hands; trying to carry everything with his hands would end in a disaster.

“Sure thing, Doctor Strange!” Peter chirped cheerfully.

May smiled, waving goodbye to Tony. “Be back home by midnight,” she said to Peter.

“You got it, Aunt May,” Peter said.

“Thank you for your help,” Stephen said.

“My pleasure,” May said, pushing her own cart back into the store. 

Peter helped Stephen put everything on the conveyor belt when they reached the register. Tony watched, keeping a tight grip on his Spider-Man plush. Peter grinned at all the Avengers themed kids’ stuff.

The guy behind the register started scanning items, bagging them quickly.

“Tony, he’s got to scan Spider-Man,” Stephen said, half paying attention as Peter put the bags back in the cart.

Tony clung to the Spider-Man plush, looking between Stephen and the cashier.

“I’ll give him right back, kid,” the cashier said kindly.

Tony sniffed, but let Stephen take the Spider-Man plush. The cashier quickly scanned it.

“You want me to go ahead and take the tags off?” he asked.

“Yes, please,” Stephen said. Tony watched intently as the tags were cut off, and he snatched the plush from Stephen’s fingers the moment the doctor had it back in hand. 

“Cute kid,” the cashier said. “You’re buying a lot of stuff.”

“His wife left them,” Peter blurted. Stephen froze, staring at Peter. He was going to kill him later. Slowly.

“Aw, man, I’m sorry,” the cashier said.

“Peter Parker I am going to tell your aunt,” Stephen hissed all in one breath. Peter gave him that wide eyed innocent look.

Tony smiled up at Stephen as the man reached over him for the diaper bag. He touched Stephen’s chest, bringing Stephen’s attention back to him.

“We’re almost done,” Stephen said, standing up straight and smiling at Tony.

“’Kay,” Tony said.

Stephen ignored Peter fluttering around the end of his cart. He was so going to talk to that kid later.

Stephen watched the total price climb with growing horror. He couldn’t remember the last time he had spent so much in one place. It was long before his accident.

Why the hell was kids’ stuff so bloody expensive?

Between the necessities and the clothes and the toys and little bit of food and the few items for him that he still felt guilty about, the total was well over three hundred dollars. Stephen was in a bit of a daze as he stuck the card in the reader.

It asked for his signature and his heart dropped. This was why he didn’t have a card. He could feel the cashier’s eyes on him and his hands started to tremble more violently. He needed to find out if this card had a pin number; it would be a lot easier for him.

He didn’t look up as he painstakingly tried to sign his name, silently cursing. Peter saw the tips of Doctor Strange’s ears flush red and he immediately engaged the cashier in a conversation, distracting him from looking intently at the scars on the doctor’s fingers.

The card reader accepted the signature much to Stephen’s relief. His hand shook as he took the card back, silently putting it back in the diaper bag.

“Have a good day,” the cashier said. 

“Thank you,” Stephen managed quietly, still flustered from the card reader. Tony stuck his tongue out at the cashier, covering Stephen’s hand with his own. Peter trailed after them like a lost puppy.

“Sorry, Doctor Strange,” Peter said quietly. “I didn’t think before I spoke.”

“It’s fine,” Stephen said, looking over the bags.

“It’s really not,” Peter said, picking up the bags from the cart. “I panicked. He was looking at you weird.”

“We can talk about it later,” Stephen said tiredly. “I just want to get back to the tower.”

“How come you’re not staying at the Sanctum?” Peter asked, grabbing the last bag before Stephen could pick it up.

“The last time you were there you opened a trans-dimensional rift and invited a tentacle monster to come visit. You really think I want a two year old running around that place?”

“Good point. But it was a nice tentacle monster!”

“They’re not all nice, Peter,” Stephen said, lifting Tony from the cart. Tony smiled, hugging him tightly.

“You’ve met more?”

Stephen just hung his head. 

“Pe’er leaving?” Tony asked.

“Not yet,” Stephen said, adjusting his grip on Tony. He led the way to the alley, Peter juggling all the bags with ease. Stephen opened the portal and waved Peter through to Tony’s penthouse, the portal closing behind them as he stepped through.

“Welcome back, Doctor,” FRIDAY’s voice came from the ceiling. “Peter.”

“Hey, FRIDAY,” Peter said, setting the bags down on the table. Stephen put Tony down, ruffling his hair. 

“Peter, can you open the toys for him?” Stephen asked, pulling out the clothes he’d bought for Tony.

“Sure thing, Doctor Strange,” Peter said, pulling all the toys out of the many bags. He started to yank them out of the packaging, very aware of Tony’s wide eyes on him.

Stephen took the tags off all the clothes and looked around.

“FRIDAY, does Tony actually have a laundry room or does he have a cleaning service do everything?” Stephen asked.

“There is a laundry room. Ms. Potts insisted he have it installed a number of years ago. She got tired of him throwing out perfectly good clothes after one wear in the shop. Down the hall, third door on the left.”

“Thanks,” Stephen said, gathering the clothes to him. He started to walk down the hall, stopping when he heard rapid little footsteps chasing him.

“Stephen!” Tony cried worriedly. Stephen knelt down and picked the boy up, Peter’s eyes on them both.

“I’m not leaving,” Stephen said. “I’m just going to start the laundry. You can stay with Peter or come with me.”

Tony bit his lip, apparently thinking hard.

“Peter has all your toys. I’ll only be a few minutes, I promise.”

“Okay,” Tony said. He hugged Stephen hard, smacking a kiss against his cheek. Stephen gave him a surprised look, flushing slightly. “Okay?” Tony asked, voice quiet.

“Okay,” Stephen said, pressing his lips against Tony’s temple. Tony smiled brilliantly at him as Stephen set him down. Tony trundled back to Peter, picking up his Spider-Man plush and smiling up at Peter.

“Hey,” Peter said, kneeling down. He glanced up as Stephen disappeared down the hall and held out his hand. Tony grasped his finger, laughing as Peter started to put the oversized racetrack together.

In the laundry room, Stephen sorted the clothes into darks and lights. He looked at the high end washing machine; it had so many gizmos and gadgets attached to it he was pretty certain that Tony had added some post market improvements.

He stood there a moment, listening to the sound of Tony’s laughter coming from the living room. He was glad that Tony seemed to trust Peter. It gave him a moment to try to gather his thoughts.

He opened a small portal to Kamar-Taj, hoping for an update.

He saw Wong sitting as his desk in the library. The other man didn’t even look up. “I’ve told you before no portals in the library.”

“I just want an update,” Stephen said.

Wong turned to face him. “It hasn’t even been a day, Stephen. I have the novices going through books looking for anything that can help. Master Hetrick is watching over the New York Sanctum while you are on babysitting duty.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said. He felt a bit guilty that he couldn’t really continue his duties with Tony in his current state.

“Stop the guilt trip,” Wong said. “You are doing important work.”

“Babysitting?” Stephen asked dryly.

“Protecting the man who let me meet Beyoncé,” Wong said simply, closing the portal with a wave.

“I hate you so much,” Stephen said to the air. He opened another quick portal to his room in the Sanctum, grabbing his laundry basket and pulling it through. If he was going to do laundry he may as well get his own done.

He finally figured out how to get the washing machine started and dumped their clothes in. He added the detergent and walked back out. He leaned against the wall, watching Tony push the oversized plastic car around the track with exaggerated engine noises.

Peter sat next to Tony, the Spider-Man plush in his lap as he pushed the second car around.

“Are you _sure_ this is Mr Stark?” Peter asked, glancing up at Stephen.

“Quite sure,” Stephen said dryly. “Why do you ask?”

“I mean…well…he doesn’t have the goatee and he loves his facial hair.”

Stephen stared at him before bursting into laughter. Tony looked up at him, grinning widely and standing up. Tony stumbled over to him, lifting his arms. Stephen scooped him into his arms, still chuckling.

“What?” Peter asked.

Tony laughed along with Stephen, touching his face. Stephen mock gagged when Tony’s fingers ended up in his mouth. Tony squealed with laughter, tugging on his lips.

“Alright, enough,” Stephen said, still laughing. 

“You never answered,” Peter said petulantly. 

“He’s two, Peter. Of course he doesn’t have facial hair. Did you really think that Tony Stark sprang from the womb with magnificent facial hair from the moment of birth?”

“Well…kinda,” Peter said.

Stephen laughed again, grasping Tony’s hand as the boy tried to shove his fingers back in his mouth. “Stop, you little monster!”

“Monster!”

“Yes, you’re a monster,” Stephen said. He looked back at Peter. “I can give you a whole medical dissertation on why it’s impossible for a toddler to have facial hair. But yes, this is Tony Stark.”

“If you say so,” Peter said. “Mr. Stark looks weird without the facial hair.”

“Stop calling him Mr. Stark,” Stephen said again, shaking his head. “You’re going to confuse him.”

“I can’t call him _Tony_!” Peter said, horrified.

“It’s his name,” Stephen said, walking forward and setting Tony on the couch. Tony smiled up at him, reaching for him. “Stay there,” Stephen said gently. 

“’Kay,” Tony said brightly. Stephen sat next to him, gesturing for Peter to join them. Peter flopped down on the couch on the other side of Tony, making the boy laugh as he bounced between them.

“So how exactly did this happen?” Peter asked, watching as Tony strangled the Spider-Man plush in a hug.

“Curse,” Stephen said. He gave Peter a quick rundown of everything that had happened since the battle against the witch that morning.

“Aw man, I was coming to help with that too,” Peter said.

“Oh, I’m so glad you didn’t,” Stephen said.

“Hey!” Peter said.

“The last thing I need would be two toddlers,” Stephen said dryly.

“But then I wouldn’t have to take that physics test!” Peter said.

“Because that’s the perfect excuse not to take a test. Sorry, Mrs. Peterson, but Peter can’t come take the test today. He turned into a two year old in the middle of a battle against an interdimensional witch.”

Tony clapped his hands happily, crawling into Stephen’s lap. Stephen let Tony cuddle against him, cradling him to his chest.

“I might have helped!”

“And you might have been turned into an actual spider, but thankfully, you weren’t.”

“I don’t know, eight legs could be cool.”

“I’m going to find the spell that will transform you into a literal spider and put you in a shoebox.”

“That’s not nice,” Peter said.

“Whoever told you I was nice?”

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said immediately. “He talks about you a lot.”

Stephen swallowed his surprise, ducking his head. The motion brought his lips to Tony’s soft hair.

Peter watched with interest, fighting the smirk. He didn’t know Stephen Strange could get embarrassed. It was endearing, and nice to know the man was human.

Stephen wasn’t aware that Tony Stark talked about him. They didn’t spend a whole lot of time together after Thanos. At first, Tony had barely spoken to anyone, even Pepper and Rhodes. It had taken well over a year for Tony to speak to him again, and it had started with a bitch slap to the face and then a hug. They met for coffee and tea every couple of months, and Stephen was on call with the new Avengers. They usually spoke of safe topics, never mentioning Thanos or the time stone.

Tony hugged Stephen, bringing his attention back to the toddler. “Stephen?”

“Right here,” Stephen said, running shaking fingers over Tony’s downy hair.

“Doc, the clothes are ready to be put in the dryer,” FRIDAY said.

“Thanks,” Stephen said. He looked at Tony. “Can you stay with Peter while I go put the clothes in the dryer?”

Tony thought about it for a moment before nodding. “’Kay.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said. Tony crawled off Stephen’s lap and into Peter’s. Peter looked bemused and Stephen just smiled as he stood up, ruffling Tony’s hair. 

Stephen walked quickly to the laundry room and put the wet clothes in the dryer. He put the second load in the wash. He wandered back to the kitchen, going through the groceries that Pepper and Happy had delivered. He noted a booster seat at the dinner table and smiled. Pepper really had a way of coming through for Tony.

He didn’t want to make something too complicated for dinner. Luckily, he had become quite good at making cheap pasta dishes quite edible. “Kids like pasta, right, FRIDAY?” Stephen asked.

“I believe so,” FRIDAY said. “The boss does enjoy pasta quite often. It must be the Italian in him.”

“Must be,” Stephen said. He looked through the freezer, smiling when he saw dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets. Those would be easy and faster than pasta. He found a cookie sheet and spread out the chicken nuggets, setting the oven to preheat before walking back to the living room.

He froze, staring at Tony and Peter in shock. Tony was seated before Peter on the coffee table, grinning at the teen. Peter had a pen in his hand, and he was drawing on Tony’s face, adding the missing facial hair.

“There you go, Mr. Stark!” Peter said cheerfully, setting the pen down.

Tony laughed, clapping his hands together.

“Really?” Stephen asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Oh, hey, Doctor Strange!” Peter said quickly, hiding Tony behind his back.

“I already saw, Peter,” Stephen said dryly. Tony slowly crawled off the table and toddled over to Stephen, lifting his arms.

“Up!”

Stephen lifted Tony into his arms, staring at the poorly drawn beard on the boy’s face.

“Pe’er drew on me!”

“I see that,” Stephen said, licking his finger and rubbing Tony’s chin. Tony laughed, batting at Stephen’s fingers.

“You better not have used a Sharpie,” Stephen said, looking around Tony to glare at Peter.

“Give me a little credit,” Peter said. “It’s just a Bic pen.”

Stephen rolled his eyes. 

“What? He needed the beard!”

“He’s two! He doesn’t need a beard,” Stephen said, bouncing Tony on his hip. Tony squealed with laughter, banging his fists into Stephen’s shoulders.

“I think he looks swell,” Peter said, lifting his phone and snapping a quick picture. 

Stephen huffed, rolling his eyes. He looked at Tony. “Well, after dinner you’re getting a bath.”

“You’re going to give him a bath?” Peter asked.

“What, you expect me to leave him like this?” Stephen asked.

“Won’t that be…weird?”

Stephen leveled Peter with a look. “Again, he’s two. I can’t turn him loose in the bathroom without supervision.”

“But he’ll be naked.”

“That’s usually how people take baths, Peter.”

“But…”

Stephen walked forward, Tony on his hip. “Look, he’s two. He’s going to get dirty and sweaty and I’m not going to leave him like that. I have no idea how long he’s going to be like this and I can’t be uncomfortable with it. I am, for lack of a better term, acting as his parent. He has to bathe and someone has to do it. Unless of course, you’d rather be the one to give him a bath?”

“Uh, no, I’m good. Thanks though!” Peter said, waving his hands.

Stephen rolled his eyes. “Anyway, we’re having dinosaur chicken nuggets for dinner. You’re welcome to join us.”

Peter looked at his watch. “I think I might pick up dinner for Aunt May, if you don’t mind. I know she’s going to want to know what happened to Mr. Stark.”

“Can you please call him Tony?”

“No,” Peter said with a grin. Stephen sighed.

“Go,” Stephen said, waving his hand. “Tell your aunt thank you again for helping today.”

“Will do. Um, Doctor Strange?”

“Yes, Peter?”

“I can come back and see Mr. Stark again, right?”

“If you start calling him Tony, yes.”

“Dang it.”

Stephen smiled slightly. “Of course you can come back. Now get, before my chicken nuggets burn.”

“Bye, Mr. Stark!” Peter said, waving at Tony and Stephen. Tony gave him a weird look, looking up at Stephen for direction.

“He’s talking to you,” Stephen said to Tony.

“Oh. Bye bye, Pe’er!”

Peter opened a window and dove out, swinging away over Manhattan. 

Stephen shook his head. “I could’ve just made the boy a portal.”

He looked down at the boy in his arms as he walked back to the kitchen. He couldn’t stop the laugh at the drawn on beard.

“You look ridiculous,” Stephen said, sitting Tony in the booster seat. Tony laughed at him, slapping the table. Stephen pulled the chicken nuggets out of the oven and set them aside to cool. He looked up as the Cloak flew in, nodding gratefully as it helped him pour Tony some apple juice. The Cloak flew the sippy cup over to Tony. Tony cooed at the Cloak, tugging on the end of it.

“What do we say?” Stephen asked, dropping the nuggets on a plate.

“Thanks!” Tony said to the Cloak. The Cloak tangled around the boy’s hand before settling around Stephen’s shoulders.

“Here you are,” Stephen said, setting the plate of chicken nuggets in front of Tony and one in front of his spot.

“Thanks!” Tony said again. 

“Ketchup? Ranch? Dry?”

“Cats-up,” Tony said. Stephen nodded, pouring ketchup on the plate for Tony. He found a bib and walked behind Tony. 

“Chin up,” Stephen said. Tony tilted his head back, smiling up at Stephen as his head hit Stephen’s belly. Stephen put the bib around Tony’s neck and secured it, smiling down at him. “There you go. Eat up. I slaved over that.”

Tony happily dragged a brontosaurus through the ketchup, shoving it in his mouth and getting ketchup all over the hand drawn beard.

Stephen dipped his own chicken nugget in ketchup, eating slowly and watching Tony make an absolute mess of himself.

Stephen smiled as FRIDAY starting playing some quiet background music.

“Doc, Ms. Potts has arranged for the Avengers to assemble tomorrow at three.”

“Thanks, FRIDAY. Tell her we’ll be there a bit early to talk a game plan.”

“Will do.” 

Tony started in on his second chicken nugget, grinning at Stephen.

“Does it taste okay?” Stephen asked.

“Yeah!”

“Good,” Stephen said.

He watched Tony eat happily. He hoped to have Tony back to normal sooner rather than later, but he could think of worse ways to spend an evening.

Maybe this whole thing wouldn’t be so bad.

Tony squealed and threw a chicken nugget at the wall, laughing as the dinosaur splattered ketchup over the wall.

Stephen sighed. Oh well, hope springs eternal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter will feature much more as the story progresses, so if you weren't happy with reaction he had, he'll have some time to think about it!
> 
> Also, when I conceived this story I was imagining baby Tony with a beard, so I had to address that XD
> 
> comments and kudos are love!


	5. Rubber Ducky, You're the One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen gives Tony a bath, struggles to get the beard off, they watch tv and Rhodey joins them for breakfast but wisely decides to save his freakout for later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos! The response to this fic has blown me away, especially since fluff and soft things aren't really my forte. I read and cherish each and every comment.
> 
> not beta-ed

Once Tony had finished his chicken nuggets and Stephen cleaned the dead dinosaur and ketchup off the wall, he stuck the dishes in the dishwasher. He leaned his hip against the counter, watching Tony watch him.

The boy smiled at him, ketchup on his chin and fingers. Stephen laughed quietly and got a paper towel wet, gently wiping Tony’s face and hands. Tony laughed at him, smiling widely as Stephen attempted to get some of that horrid, hand drawn beard off his chin.

“I’m never leaving you alone with Peter again,” Stephen said, lifting Tony out of the booster seat. Tony wrapped his arms around Stephen’s neck in a hug.

“Pe’er?” Tony asked, looking around.

“He went home,” Stephen said. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with just me.”

“Okay,” Tony said, seemingly happy with that.

“Well, let’s go get the clothes out of the dryer and then we’ll get you a bath. How’s that sound?”

“No,” Tony said, shaking his head firmly.

“No?” Stephen asked, carrying Tony down the hall. He sat him on top of the dryer and opened the front of it. “Well, you’re certainly not staying like that. You’re a mess.”

“A mess,” Tony said, grabbing one of the Iron Man shirts Stephen put on top of the washer.

“Yes, a mess. I’m going to have to scrub your face clean. You are not meeting with the Avengers looking like that.”

“Avengers?” Tony asked, touching the shirt with the Avengers on it. 

“Yes,” Stephen said, folding the clothes. Tony frowned, apparently deep in thought. Stephen chucked his chin, directing Tony’s attention back to him.

“Okay?” Stephen asked. Tony shrugged, watching Stephen fold the rest of the clothes. Stephen put the load in the wash into the dryer and started it, picking Tony back up. 

“FRIDAY, what time is it?” Stephen asked, swinging Tony around until the child screeched with laughter.

“It is seven o three pm,” FRIDAY said.

“Thanks,” Stephen called, grabbing Tony’s pajamas. He swung Tony onto his shoulders, the boy’s laughter echoing off the hall. Tony grasped Stephen’s hair, swinging his legs on either side of Stephen’s neck.

Stephen held onto Tony’s thighs and galloped down the hall, Tony screaming in joy the entire way. Stephen swung Tony around and dropped the boy on the bed, the Cloak catching him on the bounce. 

Stephen left Tony and the Cloak to wrestle on the bed while he pulled his pajamas from the Sanctum. He took a deep breath and made sure he had clean briefs. He looked over at Tony, smiling slightly. The boy was wrapped in the Cloak like a flying burgundy burrito and he looked absolutely thrilled with it.

“Bring him to the bathroom,” Stephen said, standing up and gathering his and Tony’s pajamas. The Cloak followed him, Tony firmly wrapped in its embrace. Tony laughed, watching the floor float by.

Stephen walked into the bathroom and laughed at the sheer ostentatiousness of it. The bath and shower was easily large enough to fit at least four, and there were clearly jets in the tub, and he was pretty sure those were lights. There were five different showerheads, of varying size. Stephen shook his head, looking at Tony as the Cloak settled the boy on the toilet.

“Of course you would have a bathtub like this,” he said. He barely fit in the old claw foot tub at the Sanctum. “When this is over, I’m coming over and stealing your bathroom.”

Tony grinned at him, clapping his hands. Stephen took a moment to figure out how to turn on the bath and then turned to face Tony

“Alright, Tony. Let’s do this. Arms up, kid,” Stephen said. Tony lifted his arms and Stephen pulled the plain black shirt off the boy. He tossed it in the corner and glanced at the Cloak.

“Can you bring the bag of baby shampoo and stuff in?” he asked. The Cloak bobbed and flew out the door. It returned a moment later with the bag and dropped it next to the tub. “Thank you,” Stephen said, setting the shampoo on the edge of the tub. 

Stephen’s hands shook as he tried to undo Tony’s little tennis shoes. He cursed in a different language, hoping Tony wouldn’t pick up on what he was saying. The Cloak batted Stephen’s hands out of the way and pulled Tony’s shoes off, making the boy laugh.

“Thank you,” Stephen said again, pulling Tony’s socks off. He tickled Tony’s feet. Tony squealed, kicking at Stephen and laughing.

“I’ll stop,” Stephen said, chuckling quietly. He hated being tickled too, though he couldn’t remember the last time someone had tried to tickle him. It may have been his sister.

Tony lay on the cool tile, panting and grinning up at him. Stephen smiled, patting Tony’s stomach and undoing the shorts. He tossed them in the pile of dirty clothes and looked at the diaper.

“Well, shall we see how well Wong’s magical diaper held up?” Stephen asked. Tony hadn’t acted like he had been bothered by it. He undid the safety pins with some difficultly and unwrapped it from Tony’s bottom.

“I’ll be damned,” Stephen muttered, turning the diaper in his hands. It was perfectly clean. 

Tony got to his feet, hugging Stephen hard. Stephen couldn’t think of the naked child in his arms as Tony Stark, Iron Man. He was just Tony, a child who desperately needed a bath.

“Hello, there,” Stephen said, hugging the boy to his chest. He looked over Tony with a critical eye. He seemed healthy enough, though his rear was a little red. “Good thing I got that baby powder for you, huh?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, grinning at him. Stephen stood, Tony in his arms. He perched on the edge, cradling Tony and reaching to turn on the tub. He hummed quietly, keeping a close eye on the water level. When there was a couple of inches in the bottom, he turned it off, checking the temperature.

“In you get,” Stephen said, lifting Tony and setting him in the water. Tony kicked as his toes hit the water, splashing it around. He giggled, grinning up at Stephen as he sat down in the water.

Tony smacked his hands against the water, laughing at the noise and the splashing. Stephen turned, grabbing a bath toy that May must’ve put in his cart. He handed Tony the rubber duck, smiling at the boy’s delighted cooing.

“Get me a cup, please,” he said to the Cloak. The Cloak spun away again, coming back with a plastic cup. Stephen nodded his thanks, rolling his eyes as the Cloak settled on his shoulders.

He dipped the cup in the water and tapped Tony on the forehead. “Tilt your head back, please.”

Tony did so, blinking big brown eyes at him as Stephen gently poured the water over his hair. Tony smiled up at him as the water ran down his body. Stephen smiled back, grabbing a washcloth and getting it wet.

“I’m going to get that beard off your face,” Stephen said, gently grasping Tony’s chin in shaking hands and scrubbing at his cheeks.

Tony laughed, kicking up water and batting at Stephen’s hands.

“You are not helping, you monster,” Stephen said with a laugh.

“Monster?”

“Yes, you are a monster,” Stephen said. He put just a little bit of shampoo on the washcloth and gently massaged Tony’s cheeks.

“Actually, I lied,” Stephen muttered when the beard stayed steadfast on Tony’s face. “Peter Parker is the monster. I have horrid plans for that boy.”

“Pe’er monster?”

“Absolutely,” Stephen said. He set the washcloth aside and twisted his hands, smiling at Tony’s delighted cries as blue butterflies erupted from his palms. The boy’s eyes widened as the butterflies landed on his face, completely covering his cheeks and lips.

Stephen rolled his eyes as the Cloak pulled out the Starkphone and snapped a photo. Tony touched one of the butterflies, shrieking when they all popped like soap bubbles, taking the hand drawn beard with them.

Stephen tilted Tony’s head, smiling at the wonderstruck look on the boy’s face. “Ah, there. Much better.”

Tony grinned at him, splashing again and reaching for his rubber duck. 

“FRIDAY, play Rubber Ducky, please.”

He swore FRIDAY snorted at him as the song started. Tony looked absolutely thrilled as the tub lit up, lights flashing in time with the song.

“Orgy tub,” Stephen muttered, getting Tony’s hair wet again. He put just a tiny amount of shampoo on his palm, rubbing his hands together. He turned Tony so the boy was facing away from him. Tony pushed his rubber duck through the water as Stephen gently massaged shampoo into his scalp.

Tony leaned into the touch happily, smacking the duck into the water.

“Head back,” Stephen said, filling the cup with water again. Tony tilted his head back again. “And close your eyes, please.”

Tony closed his eyes and Stephen pressed the edge of his hand across Tony’s forehead, keeping the water and shampoo out of the boy’s eyes. Stephen hummed along with the song, making sure he got all the shampoo out of Tony’s fine hair.

He turned Tony back to face him, smiling back at the boy. 

“Better?” Stephen asked, wiping Tony’s body down with the washcloth.

“Yeah,” Tony said. 

“Good,” Stephen said, draining the tub. He used the cup to rinse Tony’s body, helping the boy stand so he could make sure he didn’t have any soap left behind. “Okay, sit back down.”

Tony blinked up at him, sitting in the empty tub.

Stephen sighed, running his wet fingers through his hair. He needed a shower, but it wasn’t like he could leave Tony unattended; the Cloak and FRIDAY weren’t exactly the best babysitters. He stood up, shaking the Cloak from his shoulders. The Cloak hovered in the corner, twisting to the beat of whatever song FRIDAY had started when Rubber Ducky had ended.

Stephen quickly stripped, dropping his own dirty clothes in the same pile as Tony’s. He pushed Tony to the back of the large tub and climbed in, turning on the shower. He made sure his body shielded Tony from the spray.

Stephen sighed as the warm water washed over him. He hadn’t realized how tense he had been as the stream beat against tired muscles. With everything that had happened it was easy to forget that he had been in a battle that morning. Carrying around a toddler probably hadn’t helped his back either.

He quickly soaped himself up, glancing back at Tony occasionally to check on him. Tony grinned up at him, chasing the soap suds with his toes.

“Nearly done,” Stephen said, washing his own hair. He tilted his head back, groaning quietly. He was going to make himself a cup of tea and take some Advil after this. Tony seemed content to sit on the floor of the tub and smash the rubber duck into the bottom of it, the lights in the tub throwing radiant colors over his face.

Stephen jumped slightly when small arms hugged his calf. He felt Tony’s cheek against his leg. Stephen turned, smiling down at Tony. Tony blinked up at him, a slow smile spreading across his face.

Stephen touched Tony’s head. “Sit back down while I finish, okay? I don’t want you to slip.”

Tony hugged his legs tightly one last time and flopped back onto his butt, grinning up at Stephen. Stephen smiled and turned back around, quickly washing the rest of the soap off. 

He turned off the shower and grabbed one the fluffy towels, quickly drying himself off. He stepped out the tub, wrapping the towel around his waist. He pulled a smaller towel out and knelt back down next to the tub.

“Stand up,” Stephen said. Tony got carefully to his feet, fingers grasping the edge of the tub. Stephen wrapped the towel around the boy, lifting him out of the tub and gently scrubbing him dry.

Tony laughed as Stephen fluffed his hair, drying the fine strands.

“Alright,” Stephen said, lifting Tony and laying him on a second towel. Tony’s legs kicked as Stephen grabbed the diaper. He turned it in his hands again, amazed at how clean the diaper was, like it hadn’t been worn at all.

The Cloak handed Stephen the baby powder. Stephen grabbed Tony by the legs and lifted his butt, sliding the diaper under his body and sprinkling him with the baby powder. Tony laughed, little hands twisting in the towel. Stephen let his legs down and used magic to refasten the diaper, knowing his fingers would fumble with the safety pins.

“Ready to suit up?” Stephen asked, lifting Tony’s Iron Man footie pajamas.

“Yeah!”

Stephen’s lips twitched in a smile as he fought to get Tony’s feet in the pajamas. The boy squealed and laughed, kicking and generally making it difficult. Stephen shook his head, gently putting Tony’s arms in the sleeves and zipping up the pajamas.

“Iron Man is ready to roll,” Stephen said, grabbing Tony under the arm pits and lifting him to his feet. Tony looked down at his chest, touching the fake arc reactor, then looked up at Stephen. 

“Good?” Stephen asked.

Tony nodded, giving Stephen a bright smile. Stephen ruffled his hair and stood up, grabbing his briefs. He pulled them on under the towel and then shed the towel, hanging it and Tony’s back up. He put his thin pajama pants on and followed Tony and the Cloak out of the bathroom.

Tony ran down the hall, making some kind of loud noise that Stephen suspected was supposed to be the thrusters on the Iron Man suit. He had to hand it to the makers of the pajamas, they certainly looked like the real thing.

Tony tackled his Spider-Man plush, rolling around in front of the massive TV with it. Stephen watched for a moment, smiling.

“FRIDAY, what do kids these days watch?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Couldn’t be because you’re fully integrated with the freaking internet and could look it up, no,” Stephen said dryly.

“Such sass, Doctor. It’s unbecoming,” FRIDAY said cheerfully. Stephen laughed.

“And I imagine the sass you get from Stark is ten times worse.”

“Well, yeah,” FRIDAY said. She pulled up Tony’s Netflix account and started searching through it.

“There is…a lot,” Stephen said, looking at the choices.

“These are not the boss’ usual fare,” FRIDAY said, a hint of distaste in her voice.

“You mean he doesn’t watch cartoons?” Stephen asked.

“ _Voltron_ is his favorite.”

“Of course, giant robot cats. I think that may be a bit much for his current age.”

“Agreed,” FRIDAY said, looking through the preschooler options.

“Hell with it, play _My Little Pony._ It’s colorful and less…annoying than some.”

“You’ve watched _My Little Pony_?” FRIDAY asked incredulously, selecting the show and starting it. As soon as it started Tony froze, eyes wide as he focused on the TV.

“Actually, Wong is a fan,” Stephen said with a shrug. He would never forget the time he walked into the Sanctum to see Wong watching _My Little Pony_ and mouthing the words along with it.

FRIDAY snickered, dimming the lights slightly. 

“Tony, I’m going to be in the kitchen,” Stephen called over the sounds of talking ponies. 

“’Kay!” Tony yelled back, Spider-Man held in a tight grasp.

“I see his affection for me has been superseded by the magic of friendship,” Stephen said with a quiet laugh. He walked into the kitchen, glad for the moment of peace. He opened a quick portal to the Sanctum and pulled his favorite tea through. He sighed, rubbing his neck as the water boiled.

He was tired. He could only imagine how tired he’d be in the coming days. 

He cleaned Tony’s sippy cup and put fresh apple juice in it, using magic to bring the cup and his tea back to the living room. Tony hadn’t moved, grinning at the ponies on the screen.

Stephen sat on the couch, resting Tony’s sippy cup on the arm of it and sipping his tea. Tony looked back at him, face lighting up when he saw Stephen sitting there. The boy stood and rushed to Stephen, dragging Spider-Man by the foot. Stephen pulled the boy into his lap, letting Tony wiggle around until he was comfortable.

“Here you go,” Stephen said, handing Tony the sippy cup. Tony let go of Spider-Man’s foot and grasped the cup with both hands, tilting it back and drinking it.

Stephen rested a book on the arm of the chair, sipping his tea and reading while Tony watched the adventures of Twilight Sparkle and friends. Tony seemed content to just sit on Stephen’s lap. Stephen kept one arm loosely around the boy, thumb tracing comforting circles on his stomach.

Stephen wasn’t sure how long they sat there; long enough for him to finish two cups of tea and watch a couple of episodes of _My Little Pony_. Tony yawned, burrowing against Stephen’s chest.

Stephen looked down at him, gently closing the book. “Bedtime?” Stephen asked. Tony nodded, yawning again.

FRIDAY stopped the show without asking, turning off the TV. Stephen lifted Tony into his arms and the Cloak carried their cups to the kitchen. Stephen carried Tony back to the bathroom.

“We’re going to brush our teeth,” Stephen said, glad that pump toothpaste was a thing. He put just a bit on Tony’s Iron Man toothbrush and sat Tony on the counter. He hummed quietly as he brushed Tony’s teeth, directing the boy to spit when they were done. Stephen quickly brushed his own teeth and set Tony on the floor. He used the toilet and washed his hands, picking Tony back up and carrying him to the bedroom.

He smiled when he saw the Hulk themed toddler bed next to Tony’s king sized bed. Stephen took a relieved breath. He’d been worried about sharing a bed with the toddler, especially given his nightmares. He tended to thrash a lot in bed. He’d have to remember to thank Pepper and Happy for setting it up.

Stephen sat on the bed, Tony sprawled across him. He picked up _Goodnight Moon_ and opened it across Tony’s lap. Tony touched the page, glancing up at Stephen.

“‘In the great green room there was a telephone, and a red balloon, and a picture of- the cow jumping over the moon,’” Stephen started, turning the page. Tony sat completely enraptured, touching each page as Stephen turned them. “‘Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere.’”

Tony smiled up at him as Stephen closed the book. “Not yet, huh? Okay.”

Stephen opened a portal to the Sanctum and pulled a chapter book through. “Now, I know you’ll never let me live this down,” Stephen said, smiling slightly. He opened the book to the first page.

“Chapter One, The Boy who Lived. ‘Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much,’” he began.

Tony’s eyes fluttered shut as Stephen’s deep voice resonated around the room. The Cloak hovered in the corner, listening as well, and Stephen was pretty sure that FRIDAY was listening too. Stephen was barely two pages in when Tony fell asleep.

Stephen smiled and marked his page, setting the book on the nightstand. He gently picked Tony up and carried him to the bed, covering him with a light blanket and putting Spider-Man next to him. The Cloak took up a position near Tony’s bed, standing watch.

“Sleep well, Tony,” Stephen whispered, brushing Tony’s hair with his fingers. He stood up and stretched, ambling back to the bed. He fell face down into the pillows with a groan. The bed was sinfully comfortable.

“Night, FRIDAY,” Stephen mumbled.

“Goodnight, Doctor,” FRIDAY’s melodious voice said, the lights diming.

Stephen was asleep before he could think to thank her for turning down the lights.

:::

Tony woke screaming twice during the night, each time clawing at his chest. Stephen picked him up and carried him around, soothing him each time until the boy fell asleep again. The nightmares troubled Stephen. He wished he knew exactly what they meant.

The second time Tony woke screaming, it was early morning, so Stephen just decided to go ahead and get up. He carried Tony to the living room, sitting on the couch with the boy.

“FRIDAY, play _The Little Mermaid_ please,” Stephen said. It had been one of his sister’s favorites. Tony blinked as the movie started, sitting up straight and watching.

Stephen tapped Tony’s nose. “Let’s get you out of these pjs, okay?” Tony wasn’t much help as Stephen peeled him out of Iron Man pajamas. “Shall we get you dressed?”

“No,” Tony said, shaking his head.

Stephen shrugged. “We’re not going anywhere for a bit. You want to hang out in your diaper that’s fine.”

Tony grinned at him, focusing back on the mermaids on the screen. Stephen ruffled his hair and stood up, heading to the kitchen to figure out breakfast.

The door opened and James Rhodes walked in.

“Tony, what’s this about an Avengers meeting today? You plan some…thing…what the hell?” Rhodey stopped. _The Little Mermaid_ was playing and there was a freaking toddler in nothing but a cloth diaper sitting on the floor, a Spider-Man plush in his arms, enthralled by the singing crab.

Tony wouldn’t keep a child secret from him, would he? What the serious hell was going on?

The boy turned, looking up at Rhodes. Rhodes felt his breath leave him like he’d been punched in the gut by Steve Rogers.

“Tony?” he whispered, dropping the bag of takeout. He knew those eyes, of course, but it was the mangled mess of scars on the boy’s chest that gave it away. He was one of the few people that had seen Tony Stark’s scars, from the shrapnel scars from Afghanistan, to the circular scar from the arc reactor, to the slash across his chest from Captain America’s shield. The boy before him had those exact same scars.

“Tony?” he asked again. The boy grinned up at him, getting to his feet and hugging Rhodes’ legs.

“You figured it out pretty quick,” a deep voice said. Rhodes looked up to see Doctor Stephen Strange standing in the door to the kitchen, wearing nothing but a pair of thin sleep pants and the Cloak.

“This is Tony Stark,” Rhodes said, pointing down at the boy.

“Yes,” Stephen said, walking forward. Tony grinned up at the doctor, laughing when he was picked up and swung into his arms. 

“What the fu-fudge happened?” Rhodes asked. Stephen smirked at the quick change of word.

“He was cursed yesterday morning,” Stephen said, giving Rhodes a quick rundown of the curse and the work to get it reversed.

“I’m guessing this is what the meeting is about this afternoon?”

“Yes,” Stephen said, bouncing Tony on his hip. Tony reached for Rhodes, and Rhodes took the boy in his arms. “Ms. Potts called for it.”

Rhodes looked at the boy in his arms, smiling slightly when Tony touched his cheek.

“Say hello to the colonel, Tony,” Stephen said.

“Hi,” Tony said shyly.

“You can call me Rhodey,” he said.

“Rhodey,” Tony said carefully.

“Does he know us?” Rhodey asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” Stephen said. “He seems to be comfortable around people he knows as an adult, that he trusted anyway. He does have nightmares, and that’s where the memories come out.”

“Nightmares?” Rhodey said quietly.

“He’s woken up screaming and clawing at his chest multiple times,” Stephen said. Tony grinned at Stephen from his perch in Rhodey’s arms, seeming quite pleased with himself.

“Siberia,” Rhodey muttered. Stephen stayed quiet, filing that bit of information away.

“Well, Tony and I usually have breakfast together on Mondays,” Rhodey said, jerking his head to the bag of takeout. “You’re more than welcome to it.”

“I’m not going to kick you out,” Stephen said, picking up the bag. “As long as you don’t mind sharing with a toddler, and me, that is.”

“Tony talks about you a lot,” Rhodey said, following Stephen into the kitchen. “And yet we’ve hardly had any interaction.” He noticed the tips of Stephen’s ears burning red as he set the takeout on the table.

“C’mere, Tony,” Stephen said, lifting the boy from Rhodey’s arms. 

“Food?” Tony asked.

“Yes, but you have to put a shirt on if you want to eat. The food is hot, and I don’t want you getting any on you.”

Tony let out a put upon sigh. “Okay.”

“I’ll let you pick,” Stephen said. He looked at Rhodey. “Be right back.”

Rhodey nodded and sat down, a little shell shocked. His best friend was two years old.

Stephen carried Tony to the bedroom and pulled out a few of the shirts he’d bought the day before. “Which one?”

Tony looked over the shirts intently, finally pointing at the Hulk one. 

“Hulk, huh?” Stephen said. “Good choice.” He got the green shirt on the boy and managed to convince him to put on shorts. He carried him back to the dining room, setting him in the booster seat.

Stephen sat next to Tony, pulling the takeout box to him. He put some of the scrambled eggs in front of Tony, smiling as the boy simply grabbed some with his fist and shoved it in his mouth.

“Nice shirt,” Rhodey said, grinning. Stephen smiled, sitting back and taking a bite.

“Turns out the Avengers are pretty dang popular as kids’ wear,” Stephen said dryly.

Rhodey laughed, digging into his own breakfast. “Of course. And of course you had to get him all of them, right?”

“All but the Captain America shirt,” Stephen said quietly. “He didn’t want that one.”

Rhodey glanced at Tony, spinning his fork through his potatoes. “If he’s dreaming about Siberia that doesn’t surprise me,” he said softly. “I’ll be interested to see how he reacts to Steve later today.”

Stephen wanted to ask just what had happened in Siberia, but it wasn’t for Rhodey to tell him. He knew that Siberia had something to do with the break up, but the news hadn’t specified, and after Thanos he hadn’t asked . It had seemed almost inconsequential after getting everyone out of the Soul Stone. 

“So will I,” Stephen said. “He seems happy around you, Ms. Potts, Peter Parker. He hardly lets me out of his sight.”

“But he’s happy?” Rhodey asked, offering Tony some of his potatoes.

“He seems to be,” Stephen said. “He’s been quieter than I would’ve thought a toddler Tony Stark would be, but I don’t think he’s an adult trapped in a toddler’s body. I think his behavior would be radically different if that was the case.”

“Good,” Rhodey said, smiling slightly as Tony crammed a potato wedge in his mouth.

He turned his attention back to the doctor and the two men started talking about safe subjects, occasionally offering Tony some of what they were eating. Rhodey found the interaction between Tony and Stephen quite cute, not that he’d ever tell Stephen that. He definitely needed to sit down and think about his best friend being a damn child again, but watching them eased something in his chest.

Tony hadn’t had the greatest childhood; it wasn’t exactly a secret. He thought that Stephen Strange was giving Tony some better childhood memories, for as short of time as he would be a child this time around.

“What are you smiling about?” Stephen asked, arching his eyebrow at the look on Rhodey’s face.

“Not a thing,” Rhodey said, grinning as Stephen wiped a chunk of scrambled egg off Tony’s chin.

“Uh huh,” Stephen said dryly. 

Rhodey gathered their trash and offered to take it out when he left. Stephen carried Tony back to the couch, FRIDAY resuming the movie where she left it off. Rhodey followed them, sitting next to Stephen.

Tony grabbed his Spider-Man plush and sat happily between the two men. Rhodey chuckled quietly, ruffling Tony’s hair.

“What’re your plans for the rest of the day?” Rhodey asked.

Stephen shrugged. “Probably go to the park, burn some energy off before the meeting. Take it easy.”

“So this is a vacation for you as well,” Rhodey said dryly. Stephen laughed.

“Kind of. We didn’t think having a toddler at the Sanctum was a good idea, and since Tony doesn’t want to be away from me, Wong and I decided that I’d focus my energy on him. Hopefully we can break the curse sooner rather than later. I’m hoping there’s no long term side effects from this.”

“He seems pretty content,” Rhodey said.

“Here’s to hoping he stays that way.”

The three of them sat through the rest of the movie. As the credits rolled, Rhodey stood up and stretched.

“I need to head out. I’ll see you both at the meeting.”

“Thank you for breakfast and for not completely freaking out about this,” Stephen said.

“Oh, I’m going to freak out,” Rhodey said. “But not in front of Tony.” Tony didn’t deserve that, no matter how old, or young, he was. He’d had enough people freak out about him in his life.

“Good plan,” Stephen said. Rhodey shook his hand gently and waved to Tony.

“Bye, Tony!”

“Bye bye, Rhodey!” Tony yelled, standing up and reaching for a hug. Rhodey scooped him into his arms, hugging him tight.

“Be good for Stephen,” Rhodey said, looking into those familiar eyes.

“Okay!”

Rhodey handed Tony to Stephen, waving as he gathered the trash and walked out.

Tony crawled back into Stephen’s lap, wrapping his arms around Stephen’s neck in a hug. Stephen rubbed Tony’s back and looked down at him.

“I need to get dressed and then we’ll head to the park, okay?”

“Okay,” Tony said, smacking a kiss against Stephen’s cheek.

“Why thank you,” Stephen said, smiling at him. Tony cuddled against him, and Stephen decided to just sit there a moment and enjoy it.

They had all day. The park could wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are love!


	6. Make Mine a Sand Sandwich

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen takes Tony to the park, and he, Rhodey, and Pepper prepare for meeting the Avengers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love each and every one of you guys. The response to this has blown me away and I hope you continue to enjoy it! This chapter is a bit shorter, but I decided to push the meeting with the Avengers to the next chapter. 
> 
> I hope you all continue to love this.
> 
> not beta-ed

Stephen took a step and waited for Tony’s little legs to catch up. Tony’s hand was clasped tightly around Stephen’s little finger. The boy had been bound and determined to walk on his own once they had reached Central Park. Stephen had set him down and Tony had immediately grabbed his hand, walking slow next to him.

Tony’s other hand dragged Spider-Man by the foot behind him. Stephen had surreptitiously put a spell on the poor plush to repel dirt, but even magic could only do so much. He had a sneaking suspicion he’d be giving Spider-Man a bath later that night, along with Tony.

Tony grinned up at Stephen as they walked, his boonie hat shading his eyes. Stephen smiled down at him, tracing his finger over Tony’s hand. At the rate they were going, it would take quite some time to get to the playground they were heading for, but Stephen really couldn’t bring himself to mind. It was a beautiful day.

They walked over a bridge and Tony stopped, pressing his face against the rails to look at the pond they were crossing. Stephen knelt next to him. 

“See the ducks?” he asked, pointing at the family of ducks paddling across the pond.

“Ducks,” Tony said, pointing at them.

“That’s right,” Stephen said.

“Ducks!” Tony yelled, laughing when the ducks flew halfway across the pond before landing again. Stephen shook his head, laughing quietly. 

“C’mon, you,” Stephen said, standing back up and letting Tony grasp his finger again. He took another slow step, waiting patiently for Tony to catch up. Joggers and other people out for the day streamed around them, Tony waving at some as they passed.

“You’re going to drop Spider-Man if you keep waving at everyone,” Stephen said with a laugh. Tony’s eyes widened and he looked at Spider-Man intently before lifting him up and offering him to Stephen. 

“You want me to carry him?”

“Yeah,” Tony said solemnly. 

“Okay,” Stephen said, gently taking the plush and tucking it under his arm next to the diaper bag. Tony grinned, jumping from plank to plank on the bridge. They kept walking, Stephen pointing out various plants and animals to Tony.

They finally reached the playground. Stephen had asked FRIDAY to locate one that was more toddler friendly than some of the others, and the AI had come through. The park had plenty of things for kids to crawl over, swings, sandboxes, and a new sprinkler feature. Tony’s face spilt into a happy grin when he saw the playground, pointing at it. There weren’t many people there; Stephen saw a couple of families with young kids but it was pretty empty.

Tony looked up at Stephen, begging with his eyes. Stephen smiled. “Go forth and conquer, young man.”

Tony dropped Stephen’s hand and ran as fast as his chubby little legs could carry him, faceplanting once and getting to his feet without pausing. Tony clambered into the sandbox and immediately started digging, burying his fingers in the soft sand.

Stephen sat on the edge of the sandbox, keeping an eye on Tony. The Cloak, once again folded as a scarf, hung around Stephen’s neck and was practically vibrating with the desire to join Tony in the sandbox.

Stephen tugged on the Cloak. “Stop,” he hissed. “If the other people leave you can play with him.” The Cloak wiggled against him, smacking his hand. “No, I am not putting us in the Mirror Dimension just so you can play in the sandbox.”

The Cloak sagged dejectedly. Stephen groaned, whipping it off his neck and dropping it over Tony’s shoulder. Tony squealed with laughter as the Cloak discreetly helped him dig.

“Sucker,” FRIDAY said in the Bluetooth in his ear. She had convinced him to put the earpiece in, and had pointed out a pair of less flashy (for Tony Stark anyway) sunglasses for him to wear.

“Shut it, you,” Stephen said, listening to FRIDAY’s snicker.

The Cloak slipped itself off Tony’s neck and burrowed into the sand. Tony laughed and started shoveling sand over it. The Cloak seemed content to let the boy bury it.

Stephen glanced up as another toddler crawled over to Tony, watching him with wide eyes. Tony looked up, lips parting in surprise. He smiled, waving slightly at the little girl. The girl grinned back, plopping down on her butt next to him. Stephen could see the Cloak practically vibrating with excitement as both children started to bury it. He shook his head slightly; who knew the Cloak liked kids?

The two children babbled at each other, Tony grinning at the girl.

“Little flirt,” Stephen muttered, fighting a smile.

“Becca!” a young woman rushed over to them, looking flustered. “I’m so sorry she’s bothering you,” the woman said to Stephen.

“She’s fine,” Stephen said, smiling slightly. “She and Tony are playing fine together.”

The woman sat next to him with a sigh. She was maybe about seventeen, and Stephen figured she was a nanny.

“I’m Sarah,” she said, offering her hand. Her eyes flicked to the scars as Stephen offered his own hand, and her handshake was gentle.

“Stephen,” he said. He rarely introduced himself as Stephen Strange to people anymore unless he needed to now that the name was known in relation to the Avengers.

“It’s my first day as a nanny,” Sarah said, frazzled. “Becca is…a handful.”

“I imagine,” Stephen said. The two sat in a companionable silence as the toddlers played together. The Cloak was completely buried and Tony started to dig it free, babbling at Becca like he was telling her something important.

Tony shrieked when Becca shoved a handful of sand in his mouth, coughing and spluttering. Sarah pulled Becca close, chastising her sternly. Stephen lifted Tony into his arms, wiping away tears.

Stephen dug into the diaper bag and pulled out a water bottle. He used his teeth to unsnap the lid and offered it to Tony. “Don’t drink, just spit it out.”

Tony took a sip and spit it out, getting sand out of his mouth. He sniffed, face still red with anger.

“I am so sorry,” Sarah said again. Becca looked quite pleased with herself as Sarah wrestled her back into a high end stroller.

Stephen just smiled. “It’s fine. Tony’s fine, just angry. Plus, they’re kids.”

“Are you sure I can’t do anything to make it up?” Sarah asked, sticking a pacifier in Becca’s mouth.

“It’s fine,” Stephen said again, setting Tony back down in the sandbox. 

“Okay. It was nice to meet you, Stephen.”

“And you. Good luck, Sarah.”

Sarah waved and pushed the stroller away. Becca waved to Tony, grinning widely.

“You can at least wave back, even if your attempt at flirting failed miserably,” Stephen said, lifting Tony back into his arms and waving Tony’s hand at the girl. He laughed quietly at the petulant expression on Tony’s face. “I’m guessing it’s been awhile since someone shoved sand in your face.”

Tony grumbled, cranky and tear stained. Stephen set him back down in the sandbox. “Everyone’s gone,” he told the Cloak. The Cloak burst out of the sand, showering them both in sand and making Tony wail indignantly.

“Thank you,” Stephen said dryly. The Cloak hovered close to Tony, patting his cheeks in apology. Tony sniffed, wiping his face with his arm. His cries finally quieted, although his face was still red and his cheeks stained with tears. 

“God, you’re a mess. Come here,” Stephen said. Tony got to his feet and walk slowly over to Stephen. Stephen set the boy on his lap and pulled a few Kleenex out of the diaper bag, setting to wiping Tony’s face clean. Tony shoved at his hand angrily, face set in a frown.

“Don’t be like that,” Stephen said. “It’s not my fault she didn’t like you.”

The Cloak settled over Stephen’s shoulders as another family walked into the playground. Stephen stood up, Tony on his hip. 

“How about the swings?” Stephen asked. Tony shrugged, clearly in a mood. Stephen rolled his eyes and walked to the swing set, putting Tony in the little seat. Tony clung to the chains, looking around. Stephen set the diaper bag and Spider-Man down and moved to start pushing Tony.

Tony let out a delighted scream at the first push, the swing soaring through the air.

“Knew you couldn’t stay mad for long,” Stephen muttered with a smile, using his forearm instead of his hands to push. His hands ached already, and he knew they’d be hurting like hell later.

Tony laughed joyously as Stephen continued to push him. The Cloak moved from Stephen to Tony, assisting in pushing. 

“FRIDAY, is there a way to set up a pin number for the card?” Stephen asked quietly after a bit. Tony was clearly enjoying himself, so Stephen took the moment to talk to the AI.

“I took the liberty of setting one up for you this morning. It’s the boss’ birthday. I also set up Starkpay for the phone, so you can use the phone to pay for anything.”

“You’re a doll,” Stephen said. “I see why Tony likes you so much.”

“Aw, shucks,” FRIDAY said, “you’ll spin a girl’s head with talk like that.”

Stephen chuckled, bringing his attention back to Tony. The boy was panting from laughing so much, cheeks red with exertion. Stephen slowed the swing, finally bringing it to a stop. Tony looked up at him, smiling wide and holding his arms up.

Stephen lifted Tony into his arms, leaning over to pick up the diaper bag and Spider-Man again. He walked to the grass, sitting down in the shade of a tree. He laid back, head propped on Spider-Man. Tony crawled around him, enjoying the cool grass on his hands and knees.

Stephen watched him out of half-closed eyes, making sure he didn’t wander too far. Tony seemed disinclined to go too far away from him. Tony picked a dandelion and carried it back to Stephen. Stephen smiled, gently taking the seed head. He held it out to Tony. 

“Make a wish and blow,” Stephen said.

Tony bit his lip, giving the appearance of thinking hard, then puffed his cheeks out and blew hard. He clapped his hands as the seeds danced away with his breath. Stephen laughed as he wiped Tony’s spit off his hand.

Tony toddled away, picking another one and bringing it back to Stephen. Stephen held it in shaking fingers, offering it to Tony again. Tony shook his head.

“You wish,” Tony said.

Stephen arched his eyebrow and looked at the little flower in his hand. He smiled slightly, then blew on it gently. Tony laughed as the seeds dispersed, throwing his arms around Stephen’s neck in a hug.

“Well, hello,” Stephen said, gently embracing Tony. 

Tony pulled his head back and looked at Stephen. “Food?”

“What time is it?” Stephen asked, reaching for the diaper bag. FRIDAY flashed the time in the corner of the sunglasses lenses. “Oh, thank you.” They had a few hours before the meeting with the Avengers was supposed to start.

“How’s street food sound?” Stephen asked, gathering everything and standing back up. Tony lifted his arms again, tugging on Stephen’s jeans. “Okay, okay,” Stephen said, scooping Tony into his arms. Stephen juggled the diaper bag and Spider-Man, relieved when the Cloak took the weight of the diaper bag. Once Stephen had everything, including Tony, comfortable in his arms, he started heading for a food cart.

He set Tony down once they got there, digging through the diaper bag for the credit card. Tony kept tugging on his pant leg, saying his name over and over.

“Goodness, fine,” Stephen said with a huff, lifting Tony again so he could see the food being grilled.

He didn’t really want a hotdog, so he ordered a knish. He handed the card over, bouncing Tony on his hip as the man wrapped the knish for him. “Thank you,” Stephen said, slipping the credit card in his back pocket. He put the foil wrapped knish in the diaper bag and picked it up, heading back to the shady spot they’d had before. He sat back down, leaning against the wide tree with Tony in his lap. He pulled the knish out and unwrapped part of it from the foil. He held it out to Tony.

“Blow first,” Stephen said. Tony blew on it, cheeks puffing with each breath. “Little bite.”

Tony took a small bite and smiled up at Stephen. Stephen took a bite, then let Tony take another. They slowly shared the knish, each taking a bite. Tony seemed happy just sitting there, eating when Stephen offered it to him. 

“All gone,” Stephen said, balling the foil up. He glanced around and made sure they weren’t being watched before opening a quick portal and throwing it away. Tony blew a raspberry at him, making Stephen laugh. Stephen rested his cheek on Tony’s head, the hat warm against his cheek.

“FRIDAY, can you ask Ms. Potts when she wants us at the compound?”

“Sure thing,” FRIDAY said. “She says you can come through whenever is easiest for you. Colonel Rhodes is with her currently.”

Stephen nodded and stood up, Tony balanced on his hip. He grabbed the bag and Spider-Man and started heading for one of the bathrooms.

“Let them know we’ll portal in to her office,” Stephen said, stepping into the single stall bathroom. He looked around and made sure the door was unlocked so the next person could get in, and then he opened a portal to Pepper Pott’s compound office and stepped through.

Pepper looked up at the golden portal, smiling slightly as Stephen stepped through, Tony in his arms. Tony looked around, grinning when he saw Pepper and Rhodey.

“Pep! Rhodey!” he yelled. Stephen set him down, quickly closing the portal and half collapsing into a chair. The Cloak shook itself into its regular shape, hovering behind Stephen’s chair. Tony ran around Pepper’s desk and crawled onto her lap, causing the woman to laugh. 

“Hello, Tony,” she said. Tony looked up at her, grinning.

“Hi,” Tony said.

“Nice hat,” Rhodey said. “Surprised you got him to wear it. Tony’s never been a huge fan of hats.”

“I pretended to cry if he didn’t wear it,” Stephen said. 

Pepper laughed. “Sneaky.” Stephen gave a half bow from his chair.

After a few minutes, Tony got off Pepper’s lap and went to Rhodey, seeking a hug. Rhodey lifted him into his arms, giving him a hug. Tony babbled at him, patting Rhodey’s cheeks.

“You have sand behind your ears, Tones,” Rhodey said, helping Tony take the hat off. Stephen took the hat and stuffed it back in the diaper bag.

“Yes, we went to the park and a little girl decided Tony’s face needed more sand on it, and in his mouth,” Stephen said.

Pepper covered her mouth, fighting back a snicker. Stephen smiled slightly, watching as Tony continued to talk to Rhodey.

“I have no idea what you’re saying,” Rhodey said, laughing as Tony just continued to babble.

“He seems a lot more comfortable today,” Pepper said, glancing at Stephen. 

Stephen nodded. “He does. He slept okay last night; woke up twice with nightmares. Overall, he seems more settled.”

“Is he getting used to it then?” Pepper asked worriedly.

Stephen shrugged. “I don’t think there’s anything to get used to. He seems to me to be a toddler, albeit a quiet one, and not an adult trapped in a toddler’s body.” He stood up and pulled the Starkphone out. “Let me call Wong for an update. Give me a moment.

“FRIDAY, call Wong please,” Stephen said. He heard it ringing in the earpiece and he paced.

“Stephen,” Wong’s voice said.

“Wong.”

“At least you didn’t make a portal into my library this time,” Wong said dryly.

Stephen rolled his eyes. “We’re getting ready to meet with the Avengers. Any update for me?”

“The curse is quite incredible,” Wong said. “It is more complicated than we originally thought.”

“Wonderful. Is there any sign that he’s an adult trapped as a toddler?” Stephen asked, glancing down when he felt Tony tug on his pants. Stephen lifted him, pacing with the boy.

“None,” Wong said. Stephen let out a sigh of relief. “Master Hetrick found some literature about deaging spells, and every single one that we’ve come across has indeed reversed the person’s age, both mental and physical.”

“That’s good,” Stephen said quietly.

“Yes,” Wong said simply. “How are you handling it?”

“We’re surviving. FRIDAY had food delivered to the Sanctum for Master Hetrick.”

“He sends his appreciation,” Wong said. “Send me a tuna melt.”

“Yeah yeah,” Stephen said.

“Good luck with the Avengers,” Wong said. 

“I’m going to need it,” Stephen added.

“Indeed,” Wong said, hanging up. Stephen rolled his eyes and sat back down, Tony in his lap. He gave Rhodey and Pepper a quick rundown of what Wong had said.

“At least we can be fairly certain he’s just a kid now,” Pepper said, smiling at Tony. Tony gave her a winning smile from the circle of Stephen’s arms.

“So, do we have a plan for this?” Rhodey asked. “The notification for the meeting said that Tony called it.”

Pepper nodded. “I did that on purpose. I figured they wouldn’t show up if I called for it.”

“Fair enough,” Rhodey said.

“Who all are we expecting?” Stephen asked, using his legs to bounce Tony.

“Carol Danvers, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Barnes, Vision, Maximoff, Sam Wilson, T’Challa and Shuri will be there via hologram. Thor sent his apologies but he can’t make it,” Pepper said. “Natasha and Clint will be there, oh, and Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne. And I bet money that Peter Parker shows up.”

“I’d be worried about his reaction to Rogers, Barnes, and Maximoff,” Rhodey said immediately.

Pepper nodded slowly. “Tony and Rogers have been working on their…issues.”

“At Carol’s insistence,” Rhodey said with a slight grin.

“True,” Pepper said. “And Tony said he doesn’t hate them anymore, he just doesn’t trust them.”

“Don’t blame him there,” Rhodey muttered.

Stephen sat there, wondering again at just what had happened between Tony and Rogers. Tony beat his Spider-Man plush against Stephen’s legs, still babbling happily. 

“What about Maximoff?” He asked. Tony had told him a little of the vision that Maximoff had forced into his head all those years ago. Upon Thanos’ defeat, Stephen had given Maximoff an ultimatum; learn to fully control her powers or he’d seal her powers until she did. She had agreed, and for two years she had come to Kamar-Taj to train. Her magic was different than his, but she had learned. Vision’s return, sans the Mind Stone, had helped her immensely. 

No one knew exactly where Vision had come from after Thanos was dead, but most were disinclined to ask. He was back, and he was himself.

“I have no idea how Tony will react to her,” Rhodey said. “Tony seemed glad that she was training with you, and I know that they’re at least civil to each other.”

“So what we’re saying is anything could happen,” Stephen said with a groan, letting his head flop back. Tony reached up and patted Stephen’s cheeks, sticking his fingers in his mouth. Stephen gnawed on his fingers, making Tony scream with laughter.

“Basically,” Rhodey said. “Barnes and Tony have a surprisingly good relationship though.”

“Well, he helped Barnes with BARF and got him back to normal, they punched the heck out of each other and then went for beers,” Pepper said.

“With what Stephen said about the nightmares Tony’s having, my biggest concern is Rogers, and to a lesser extent Barnes,” Rhodey said.

Pepper nodded, watching Tony with a slight frown. Stephen kept quiet, playfully nibbling on Tony’s fingers. Tony gave him an offended look.

“You stick your fingers in my mouth I’m going to eat them,” Stephen said with a shrug. Tony blew a raspberry at him, grinning widely and pulling at Stephen’s lip.

Stephen finally pushed Tony’s hands away from his mouth, and the boy happily began to play with Stephen’s fingers. He looked up to see Pepper and Rhodey both watching him with a grin and he felt his ears burn. He coughed slightly, dropping his eyes to the boy in his lap.

“We’ll just have to take whatever comes. If he gets too stressed, I’ll take him right back to the tower and you’ll both have to explain. Tony’s wellbeing is my first priority while he’s like this,” Stephen said.

Pepper nodded. “Of course. I think you should wait before coming in with him. Let me start the meeting, then I’ll cue you to come in.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Stephen didn’t want to be in there while everyone filtered in.

“There’s a one way mirror that Tony installed outside the meeting room,” Rhodey said, “you can stand there and wait for Pepper’s signal.”

“Thank you, Colonel,” Stephen said.

Pepper leaned forward. “I think we should address each other by first names,” she said seriously. “It shows a united front, that the three of us trust each other about this.”

Stephen tilted his head. “Yes, I agree, Pepper, James.”

“Call me Rhodey,” Rhodey said immediately. “Only my parents call me James.”

Stephen bowed his head. “Of course.”

“Good,” Pepper said. She stood up and Tony looked up at her.

“Pep leaving?”

“Only for a bit,” Pepper said, kneeling so she was on Tony’s level. Tony reached for her hair, tangling his fingers in the fiery strands. “You always did like my hair,” Pepper said, smiling slightly.

“Don’t pull,” Stephen said in Tony’s ear. Tony grinned at him, letting go of Pepper’s hair.

“I want to go set up the meeting. Rhodey will show you where to wait,” Pepper said. 

“Thank you,” Stephen said.

“I’ll see you in a bit, Tony,” Pepper said.

“Bye bye!” Tony called after her as she walked out of the room. Rhodey got to his feet, followed closely by Stephen.

“This way,” Rhodey said, picking up the diaper bag for Stephen and leading him through the halls. He led him to a side room with a window looking into the main meeting room for the Avengers. “They should start filing in soon. I’m going to go help Pepper.”

“Thank you, Rhodey,” Stephen said, bouncing Tony on his hip.

“Sure thing,” Rhodey said, giving Tony a mock salute. Tony grinned and tried to copy him, albeit with the wrong hand. Rhodey laughed, closing the door behind him.

Stephen looked around and pulled a chair near the window, sitting down with Tony in his lap. Tony cuddled against him, ear pressed over Stephen’s heart. They sat in an easy silence, Stephen gently rubbing Tony’s back while they waited.

He watched as the Avengers started to file in. Rhodey was spinning in his chair, waiting for the others. Steve Rogers was first, bearded and wearing a black tee and dark jeans, a leather harness across his chest with his signature shield slung over his back. Bucky Barnes was on his heels, hair tied back in a messy bun at the nape of his neck, a long sleeved shirt covering the metal arm from Wakanda. Sam Wilson and Clint Barton walked in together, talking and sitting down. Wanda Maximoff and Vision were next, fingers loosely entwined as they sat down. Scott Lang bounced in, talking excitedly to Natasha. Hope Van Dyne and Carol Danvers were deep in conversation as they joined the table. Bruce Banner wandered in almost as an afterthought, nose buried in a StarkPad.

The group greeted each other, and a few moments later two empty chairs were filled by the holographic images of T’Challa and Shuri. Greetings were given again, and Barnes seemed to be in deep conversation with Shuri about his arm, given that he was flexing it for her.

Stephen watched as Pepper walked in, confusion flashing over the faces of the Avengers. Pepper Potts rarely had anything to do with them. Stephen stood up, Tony in his arms. Tony looked through the window, pressing his hand against the glass.

He couldn’t stop the laugh as Peter Parker charged in, clearly apologizing for being late and making everyone laugh.

He glanced down at his clothing. Everyone in the meeting was wearing casual clothes. Stephen could stay in his tee and jeans, but he wasn’t thrilled about wearing the same style as Steve Rogers. The Cloak settled over his shoulders and he was wearing his full Sorcerer Supreme garb. Stephen nodded. Perhaps it was better like this; it gave him a position of power over the rest of them, and he figured he was going to need any authority he could get.

“Ready?” Stephen asked quietly.

Tony shrugged, hugging Stephen tightly. Stephen ghosted a kiss over Tony’s temple, eyes glued on Pepper. He saw her lift her eyes and look directly at him, nodding discreetly.

“Let’s go,” Stephen said. 

He took a deep breath and opened the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a knish from a street vendor when I visited New York and it was amazing, so that's what they got. I was originally going to include the Avengers meeting with this chapter, but I decided not to because I knew it was going to be another 4-6k words. 
> 
> Comments and Kudos are love!


	7. Some Assembly Required

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers find out. Things could've gone better, but they could've gone a lot worse. Protective Stephen Strange rears his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's this long awaited chapter. There is no character bashing here. Everyone's made mistakes and they're mostly working their way through them. If you're looking for bashing or Steve Rogers hate, there isn't any. He does have to face his mistakes. I like Steve Rogers well enough (I would hope so considering I have a shower curtain with the man in a speedo in my bathroom) but I am firmly team Iron Man. Also, I realized I forgot to add Bruce to the paragraph last chapter where everyone's walking in, so I edited it in. It's just one line, so not super important. It's addressed here.  
> Also I couldn't remember if Hope calls Hank 'dad' in AMATW, but assume she does. This is three years after Thanos' defeat, I'm assuming family bonds are mending.
> 
> I hope this doesn't disappoint anyone. The Avengers don't actually feature much in this story (in my head, anyway. Knowing me, it very well could change).
> 
> not beta-ed

Steve Rogers slipped his shield onto the harness on his back. He probably didn’t need it; in fact, he should most likely leave it behind, but he didn’t know what the meeting was about. It was rare, extremely rare, for Tony Stark to call a full meeting of the Avengers. Since the fight with Thanos and Carol Danvers taking over the Avengers, Stark had taken a step back. He was still Iron Man, but he rarely went out with the whole group. Stark was the main reason he should leave the shield behind, but ever since he had gotten it back he didn’t like leaving it behind.

“Yo, Stevie, let’s go,” Bucky said, sticking his head in. “You’re pretty enough. Believe me when I say Tony could care less.”

“It’s weird that you and Stark get along,” Steve said, following the shorter man.

Bucky just shrugged. He didn’t really discuss his strange friendship with Tony Stark with Steve. Tony, along with Shuri, had broken him free of his programing. He couldn’t explain why the two of them got along well, especially to Steve.

“It’s weird that you let it bother you,” Bucky finally said, pushing the door open. He held the door open for Steve, who nodded his thanks at him. Steve’s eyes took in the room. Colonel Rhodes was already there, sitting in one of the chairs and spinning mindlessly. Steve looked for Stark, thinking it was weird that he wasn’t there yet.

Steve took his normal seat at the table, nodding a greeting to Rhodes. Rhodes waved his fingers back, nodding to Bucky as the other man took the seat next to Steve.

Steve glanced up as the door opened again, and Sam Wilson and Clint Barton walked in. The two were in deep discussion, and Steve swore he heard something about Barton shooting arrows while riding on Wilson’s back. He’d have to keep an eye on them during training. 

Wanda and Vision were next, fingers twisted together. Steve watched Wanda as Vision pulled her chair out. Wanda had only returned from Kamar-Taj in the last few months. She was calmer, more in control, more sure of herself. She hadn’t really told them what she had learned there, and sometimes it made him uneasy.

The door opened again and Scott Lang held it open for Natasha, talking quickly at her about something. Hope Van Dyne and Carol Danvers were last. Steve watched Hope warily. The first time they had met, after Stark had managed to reverse the snap, she had reached out to shake his hand, then shrunk into the Wasp and kicked the shit out of him. He couldn’t even grab her to retaliate. 

Tony had been on the ground laughing his ass off the entire time. 

Bruce Banner walked in last, scrolling through a StarkPad and dropping into his seat with a muttered hello. 

After everyone sat down and exchanged greetings, the two empty chairs were filled by T’Challa and Shuri’s holograms. 

“If it isn’t my favorite white boy!” Shuri said.

Bucky grinned leaning forward. “Hey there, princess, your majesty.”

“How’s the new arm?” Shuri asked. They had built him a new one after Stark had cleared his programing. Bucky grinned and rolled the sleeve of his shirt up, turning it over a few times. Shuri’s hologram leaned close.

“How has it acted in combat?”

“There hasn’t been much,” Bucky said, “but it’s doing great in training.”

“Threats have still been minimal since Thanos?” T’Challa asked.

“Mostly,” Carol said, leaning back. “Small time threats. There was some kind of fight at Central Park yesterday, but it seemed to be magical.”

“Wanda? Do you know anything?” Steve asked.

Wanda shook her head. “I felt it, but by the time Vis and I got there, there was nothing there.”

“Some overturned trees,” Vision said, “but no sign of anything else.”

“I could feel Doctor Strange’s magic though,” Wanda said.

“Has anyone contacted Strange about it?” Steve asked. Carol watched him, fingers tapping against the table. She was the leader of the Avengers now, and sometimes it seemed that Steve forgot it.

The door opened again and Pepper Potts walked in, stopping all conversation. She didn’t have anything to do with the Avengers. She and Tony had split after Thanos was killed; she had known that Tony would never be able to give up Iron Man, and she couldn’t love Iron Man the way she loved Tony. Because of that, she had told Tony that she didn’t want to deal with the Avengers and he had respected her choice. Hell, he didn’t want to deal with the Avengers most of the time.

“Ms. Potts,” Carol said, tilting her head. 

“Thank you for coming,” Pepper said, moving towards Tony’s empty chair.

“We were under the impression that Tony called this meeting,” T’Challa said.

“I called it,” Pepper said bluntly.

The door burst open again and Peter Parker ran in. 

“I’m sorry I’m late!” he yelled, dropping into the chair next to Shuri. “I mean jeez, guys, school just got out.”

Pepper just shook her head, laughter ringing around the room.

“Back to the meeting,” Carol said. “Why did you call this meeting and say Tony was the one to call it?”

“This is about Tony,” Pepper said seriously.

“Did something happen to him?” Vision asked, sitting up straight.

“Yes,” Pepper said. Silence fell over the room.

“Is he okay?” Hope asked.

“More or less,” Pepper said.

“What does that mean?” Clint asked.

Pepper looked to the one way mirror, nodding to someone standing behind it. 

“It would be easier to show you,” Pepper said.

Tension filled the room as the door opened. Steve arched his eyebrow as Stephen Strange walked in, in full sorcerer regalia with a toddler on his hip, and Tony Stark’s sunglasses over his face. He exchanged a confused glance with Bucky who lifted his shoulder in a shrug.

“Hi, Mr. Stark!” Peter said. Everyone looked at him. Stephen groaned, dropping his head. 

“Did you hit your head, kid?” Natasha asked, arching her eyebrow.

“What? No, why?” Peter asked, confused.

“That’s Doctor Strange, not Stark,” Natasha said slowly. “I know Tony says they’re awesome facial hair bros, and he’s wearing Tony’s glasses for some reason, but they are not the same person.”

Stephen gaped in shock at Natasha’s words. Tony called them ‘awesome facial hair bros’? What the serious hell? He hoped no one noticed the blush across his cheeks. He really needed to talk to Tony, once he was an adult again.

“Hi, Pe’er!” the boy yelled from Stephen’s arms, waving at Peter.

“Hi!” Peter said cheerfully, waving back.

Silence fell over the room. They looked at the child, now waving excitedly at Rhodey and Pepper.

“What the hell?” Wilson asked.

“Oh my God, is that Stark?” Wanda asked, covering her mouth. Stephen nodded shortly.

“Yes, this is Tony Stark. Tony, can you say hello to everyone?” Stephen asked. Tony looked up at Stephen then at the Avengers. He buried his face in the crook of Stephen’s neck.

“No,” he said quietly.

“Okay,” Stephen said softly, moving to the chair next to the Pepper.

“What did you do to him?” Steve asked, staring at the boy in shock. 

Stephen bristled, the Cloak flaring out behind him threateningly. Tony grinned at the Cloak, grabbing the popped up collar and banging his fist against Stephen’s shoulder.

“Doctor Strange wouldn’t do something like that to Stark,” Wanda said instantly, frowning at Steve.

“How do you know?” Steve asked swiftly.

“Believe me, Captain Rogers,” Stephen half growled, voice dripping with disdain, “if I was going to curse Tony Stark it would be far more inventive and wouldn’t make him dependent on me.”

Wanda turned her attention back to Stephen. “Is this what happened at Central Park yesterday?”

Stephen finally sat down, turning Tony to face everyone and taking off the sunglasses. “Yes,” he said to Wanda.

“What happened?” Carol asked.

Stephen quickly gave them a rundown of the battle against the witch. He looked at Wanda.

“What do you feel?” he asked, gesturing to Tony with his chin.

Wanda half closed her eyes, watching Tony. The boy ignored her, preferring to play with the edge of the Cloak.

“Is this really the time for a magic lesson?” Wilson asked.

“There’s always time to learn,” Stephen said. “Wanda?”

“It’s not magic like what you and the others at Kamar-Taj do. You said the witch was from another dimension, so that makes sense. Multi-layer curse?”

Stephen nodded. “Wong would be pleased that you paid attention to his lessons.”

Wanda looked pleased with herself, dropping her eyes and smiling slightly. Vision squeezed her shoulders, smiling proudly.

“So what’s that mean for Tony?” Bruce asked, looking at the boy over his glasses. Tony smiled shyly at Bruce before hiding his face against Stephen’s neck again. Stephen absentmindedly rubbed his back.

“Wong is leading the students in Kamar-Taj in looking for what we need to counteract the curse,” Stephen said. Tony tugged on Stephen’s sleeve.

“Pe’er?” Tony asked.

“You want to go see Peter?” Stephen said. Tony nodded, grinning widely. Stephen set him on down and the boy rushed around the table to Peter. With a grin, Peter lifted him into the air.

“Hi, Mr. Stark!”

Tony frowned at him slightly, looking confused for a moment.

“Please, call him Tony,” Stephen said.

“I _can’t_ do that!” Peter said. Stephen rolled his eyes.

“Pe’er!” Tony said happily.

“This is remarkable,” Shuri said, leaning forward for a better look. Tony looked up, eyes widening in awe at the hologram. He reached out, shrieking when his hand went through Shuri’s face. He laughed, leaning forward and waving his hands through Shuri’s form. Shuri grinned at the boy, letting him continually distort her form.

“He’s actually pretty cute like this,” Hope said. “Dad would get a kick out of it.”

“I thought Hank hates Tony,” Scott said.

“And Tony loves harassing him because of it,” Hope said. “Even Dad would be hard pressed to hate that face.”

Carol waved at Tony when he looked at her, and Tony smiled back from Peter’s lap. Tony stuck his knuckles in his mouth, sucking on them mindlessly.

“Is he…himself?” Steve asked. The boy glanced at him when he spoke, watching Steve with a slight frown. 

“He’s not a fifty-three year old man trapped in a toddler’s body if that’s what you mean,” Stephen said. “He seems to be a normal toddler, however…”

“However?” T’Challa asked.

“He has nightmares,” Stephen said softly.

“We all do,” Bucky said quietly.

Stephen nodded, acknowledging the truth of that statement. “Yes, but Tony seems to be dreaming about certain events in his life,” Stephen said bluntly. “Rhodey believes Siberia features heavily in his nightmares.”

Steve Rogers flinched slightly, feeling Carol’s eyes burning into his skull. 

“He still has all the scars he has as an adult,” Stephen said, eyes on Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Both had reacted to the mention of Siberia; Steve looked almost guilty and Barnes just looked sad. 

Peter dug into his backpack, pulling out a pen. He uncapped it, grinning at the boy in his lap.

“Peter Parker you better put that pen down this instant,” Stephen said.

“Aw, man,” Peter said, quickly hiding the pen. “How did you even see me? You were looking at Captain Rogers! Oh god, do you have eyes in the back of your head? You do, don’t you?”

Stephen sighed, giving Peter a stern look. “You draw another beard on him I’ll drop you into a dimension where _everyone_ looks like Tony Stark…”

Peter’s expression brightened. Stephen leaned forward, eyes locked with Peter’s.

“ _Without_ the beard,” Stephen finished.

Peter gasped. “Rude!”

“Wait, is there actually a dimension where everyone looks like Tony without facial hair?” Bruce asked.

“There are infinite numbers of multiple universes,” Stephen said. “And some of them are completely and utterly…”

“Strange?” Wanda said with a grin.

“Indeed,” Stephen said dryly. “And yes, there is a dimension like that.”

“Peter drew a beard on him?” Pepper asked, stifling a laugh.

“Yeah, look!” Peter said, standing up and rushing over to Pepper with Tony under his arm like a football. Tony squealed with laughter, reaching for Stephen when Peter reached him and Pepper. Stephen took the boy back, cradling him close while Peter pulled his phone out and showed Pepper the photo he’d taken of Stephen holding a bearded toddler.

Pepper snickered. “Send that to me.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Peter said cheerfully, punching at his phone and sending the photo to Pepper. He walked back to his seat and plunked down in it.

Tony crawled off Stephen’s lap and walked over to Rhodey, tugging on his pants. Rhodey bent over and picked him up, setting him on his lap. Tony smiled happily at him and Rhodey ruffled his hair. Tony squawked, batting at his hand.

“This is most fascinating,” Vision said, looking at Tony. Tony turned in Rhodey’s lap to look at the android. He looked utterly fascinated by Vision’s red skin.

“He seems to think you’re pretty fascinating too,” Sam said, leaning forward.

Vision held his hands out to Tony, and the boy reached out cautiously, touching the back of Vision’s hand. Vision smiled at him, and Tony babbled at him. He leaned forward, Rhodey’s hand making sure he didn’t tumble over, and reached for Vision’s cape. He seemed confused when it didn’t grab him back like Stephen’s Cloak.

Tony frowned, looking at the Cloak. The Cloak waved its collar at Tony, and the boy looked back at the silver cape in his hands with confusion written on his face.

“The Cloak is quite unique,” Vision said to Tony, his lips curling in a smile. “One of a kind.”

Tony huffed, letting go of Vision’s cape and flopping back against Rhodey’s stomach. Rhodey grinned, grabbing at Tony’s tummy and making him screech with laughter.

“So the point of this meeting was…” Steve asked, sitting back. He shifted uncomfortably, the shield digging into his back. The harness set up was a new one, and he wasn’t used to it yet.

“Mostly to keep you all informed,” Pepper said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “We didn’t want you to go looking for Tony and think he was missing. Again.”

“Is he staying here?” Carol asked. Tony looked at her from his spot on Rhodey’s lap.

“No,” Stephen said. “We’re staying at Stark Tower.”

“Why?” Steve asked.

“Because I’m not running a daycare center for the Avengers and you all act like children half the time anyway,” Stephen said. Rhodey grinned at him.

“Ow, shots fired,” Scott said.

“He has a point,” Hope said.

“Oh, I’m not saying he’s wrong,” Scott replied.

“How come he’s staying with you anyway?” T’Challa asked. “I would’ve thought Ms. Potts or Colonel Rhodes would take care of him.”

“You would think,” Stephen started, lifting his arms off his lap as Tony came back and crawled onto his legs. “But he barely lets me out of his sight.”

“I wasn’t aware you two were close,” Wilson said.

Stephen just shrugged. “Maybe because I was the first person he saw when he opened his eyes.” Tony threw his arms around Stephen’s neck in a hug, nearly headbutting Stephen in his excitement. “Easy there.” 

“Why not stay at the Sanctum?” Bruce asked, tilting his head. Tony turned and looked at him, grinning widely. Bruce smiled back, lowering his glasses. Tony waved, bouncing in Stephen’s lap at Bruce’s return wave.

“Considering the havoc a teenager can wreak, we figured turning a two year old loose in a place with artifacts that could eat him would be a bad idea,” Stephen said dryly, arching his eyebrow at Peter. Peter had the good grace to blush.

“You have artifacts that can eat you?” Scott said, eyes widening. “Awesome.” 

“Is he wearing a Hulk shirt?” Bruce asked, finally noticing the angry Hulk on Tony’s shirt.

“Yes, it’s what he picked out this morning,” Stephen said.

“Huh,” Bruce said. He seemed a little surprised and bashful.

“He seems…cuddly,” Bucky said, watching the way Tony snuggled into Stephen’s chest. “More touchy feely than Stark.”

“Touch is important for children, and considering Tony is touch starved as an adult, I’m not going to push him away,” Stephen said, hugging Tony back with one arm.

“How do you know he's touched starved?” Clint asked, leaning back in his chair.

Stephen tilted his head. It was easy to recognize, perhaps because he himself was touch starved himself. “It’s not hard to notice,” he said shortly. “Even with as little time as I spend with him.”

“Hungry,” Tony said, grabbing at Stephen’s lips.

“We just ate not that long ago,” Stephen said, settling Tony in his lap. He leaned over, digging into the diaper bag. “This thing is bottomless,” he muttered to himself.

“Is it really?” Scott asked with interest. 

“What?” Stephen asked, sitting up straight with a pack of fruit snacks in his hand. “No, it’s not actually bottomless.” He tore open the bag of fruit snacks with his teeth and handed Tony the bag.

“Could you make a bottomless bag?” Scott asked, leaning forward. Stephen looked at him like he was marginally nuts. “A bag that you could put anything in? It’d be awesome. Like a bag of holding!”

“Nerd,” Clint coughed into his hand. Scott grinned at him.

Stephen tilted his head, thinking. Tony dug into his fruit snacks, eating them carefully.

“I guess I could. Fold a pocket dimension into it…” Stephen said.

Scott grinned. “Could you fit a tent in it?”

“A tent? Are you going camping?” Stephen asked, knowing where this was going.

“Nah, but it’d be just like Hermione’s bag in the last Harry Potter book!”

Stephen let his head fall back with a groan.

Tony tugged on his tunic, holding out a fruit snack to him. “Don’t want.”

Stephen took it and popped it in his mouth without looking. He gagged slightly as he chewed and swallowed. “Ugh, what was that?”

Tony held the same flavor out to him. Stephen took it and barely managed not to laugh. It was Captain America’s shield.

“Captain, your fruit snack tastes terrible,” Stephen said. 

Steve looked taken aback. “I have a fruit snack?”

Stephen leaned forward, handing Steve the fruit snack. “I think it’s supposed to be tangerine.”

“There’s Avengers fruit snacks?” Bucky asked, looking at the little round orange shield in Steve’s palm.

“Oh yeah,” Peter said. “But I gotta agree, the tangerine one is nasty. My favorite is the strawberry Scarlet Witch.”

Wanda looked surprised.

“What other flavors are there?” Scott asked.

“Um…Black Panther is grape, Iron Man is cherry, Hulk is green apple, Captain America is tangerine, Scarlet Witch is strawberry, and Thor is orange,” Peter said, ticking off his fingers as he recited them.

Stephen dug another packet out and tossed it on the middle of the table. “I don’t even remember buying those.” Tony looked offended that Stephen was giving away his snacks. “You didn’t even want them,” Stephen whispered in his ear.

“Yeah, that was Happy,” Pepper said with a smile.

“There’s hardly any Ant-Man merch,” Scott said sadly. Hope snickered at him.

Peter snagged the fruit snacks from the middle of the table, tearing into them with gusto. Tony slid off Stephen’s lap to the floor, playing with the edge of the Cloak.

“Can I play with him?” Scott asked Stephen.

Stephen shrugged. “If he lets you, sure.”

Scott beamed and flopped onto the floor next to Tony. Tony looked at him with wide eyes, smiling tentatively. Scott sat in front of him, aware of Stephen’s eyes on him. The others were talking, but Scott ignored them in favor of the kid in front of him.

“Hey, Tony, look,” Scott said, holding his hands out to Tony. Tony reached for his hand, grasping his finger. Scott grinned at him and pulled a quarter out of his pocket. He flashed it at Tony, closing his fist around it.

“Which hand is it in?” Scott asked.

Tony frowned, thinking hard, before touching Scott’s left fist. Scott opened his hand, revealing nothing. Tony made an unpleased sound, tagging Scott’s right fist. Scott opened his right hand, and Tony made a disgusted noise at the empty hand.

Scott grinned at Tony’s displeasure. “What’s this?” he asked, reaching for Tony’s head. He gave a theatrical gasp and pulled the quarter out of Tony’s ear. Tony’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head and he let out a delighted screech. Scott grinned, making the quarter disappear again.

Stephen couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Of course Tony would be delighted by backyard magic tricks.

“Really, Lang?” Clint asked. “Do you ever not have those tricks up your sleeve?”

“Not all of us had fields to plough and wood to split during house arrest, Barton,” Scott said cheerfully. “I spent good time and money learning these magic tricks. Plus, Tony loves them.”

“Now I know who to call when Tony wants balloon animals made,” Stephen said dryly. 

Scott grinned at him. “We could team up. The Sorcerer Supreme and the Master Magician.”

“No,” Stephen said.

“I’ll sway you eventually,” Scott said, pulling a jack of hearts out of Tony’s hair.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Stephen said.

Scott grinned and focused back on the boy that had crawled into his lap. He got on well with Tony after everything. Tony had never seemed to blame him for Germany, though the man had called him stupid. Cassie loved Tony, and Scott made the mental note to introduce Strange to his daughter.

Steve shook his head. This whole thing was a more than a little weird to him. Tony seemed happy to ignore most of them, especially once Scott had pulled out the magic tricks.

“Pity you don’t have the Time Stone anymore,” Steve said. “You could just reverse it.”

“You think I would use the Time Stone on Tony Stark?” Stephen barked. “After everything he did, everything he went through when he _used_ the stones, you think I would use them?”

Tony looked up at the tone of Stephen’s voice, lip quivering. Scott pulled the boy into a hug, singing a mindless little song in his ear. Tony hugged Scott tightly, whimpering quietly. 

Steve lifted his hands. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just think the faster we can get him back to normal the better.”

“If Doctor Strange says Kamar-Taj is working on it, they are,” Wanda said. “Curses aren’t just something you can break without consequences.”

Stephen took a shuddering breath, relaxing into the Cloak. He closed his eyes; this was why he didn’t take part in the Avengers meetings.

“We are doing what we can,” Stephen said. “We need to know every part of the curse before we break it or he could very well end up dead.”

“Do you need anything from us?” T’Challa asked.

“No, thank you. We wanted you all to know what happened.”

“You should bring him to Wakanda,” Shuri said with a smile. “I’m sure he’ll love some of the toys we have.”

Stephen nodded. “Thank you. I’ll consider it.”

“Are you going public with this?” Carol asked Pepper.

“No,” Pepper said. “Stephen said that Tony is a target as an adult, and a toddler Tony Stark is even more of a target. Since Thanos, it’s not unusual for Tony to…disappear for long periods of time. This is just one of those times.”

Scott bounced Tony in the air from his spot on the floor, making the boy smile at him.

“Stephen is his primary caretaker,” Pepper continued. “They’ll be at Stark Tower, and visitation will be up to Stephen.”

“You’ll keep us updated?” Carol asked. Stephen nodded.

“Of course,” Stephen said.

Steve shifted again, the shield digging into his back. 

“Just take it off,” Bucky hissed at him. “It’s not like you’re going to need it against a toddler.”

“Might need it against Strange,” Steve muttered. Bucky snorted, glad that Tony’s laughter covered their conversation, although he noticed Peter half glaring at them.

With a sigh, Steve started to unbuckle the harness. “Doesn’t fit right yet,” he said in response to Sam’s questioning look. He swung the shield off.

Tony looked up at the flash of movement, freezing when he saw the shield. His face went white and a high wail escaped his throat. He started screaming, struggling in Scott’s grasp. Scott rolled to his feet, immediately passing Tony into Stephen’s outstretched arms and looking for a threat.

Steve froze, staring at the boy in shock. He looked around, confused. The others seemed to share his shock, glancing between the screaming boy and the sorcerer trying to comfort him.

“The shield,” Rhodey snarled.

Stephen walked the perimeter of the room, cradling Tony close as the boy screamed in his ear. The Cloak patted Tony’s back awkwardly.

“Captain, take the shield to your quarters where you should’ve left it to begin with,” Carol said over the sound of Tony’s screaming. “Then come back here. Double time it. Move!”

Steve got to his feet, still slightly shocked at Tony’s reaction. He picked up the shield, noting the way Strange turned so Tony wouldn’t see it again. He quickly walked out the door and down the hall, jaw tight.

Bucky reached for a box of tissues and pulled out a wad, holding them out to Stephen as the man walked by.

“Thank you,” Stephen said shortly, using them to wipe Tony’s face. Tony seemed to be having a hard time catching his breath, his screams interrupted by ragged gasps. Stephen swept back to the head of the table and pulled the glasses back on.

“FRIDAY?” he asked quietly. “What’s going on? He’s having a hard time breathing.”

“The boss’ lung capacity is diminished,” FRIDAY said in his ear. “After the combined long term effects of the arc reactor, the surgery to remove it, and the damage he took in Siberia, they had to remove a portion of his lungs.”

“That would’ve been nice to know,” Stephen hissed, turning his back to the Avengers. He ignored the door opening and Steve slinking back to his chair. Stephen gently lifted Tony’s shirt, spreading his hand over the boy’s chest. He could feel the tangle of scars under his palm, smooth and raised. He blocked out the sound of Tony’s wheezing breath, focusing on the racing heartbeat under his palm. He started chanting quietly, his hand glowing.

“What are you doing to him?” Carol asked.

“He’s helping him,” Wanda said.

“Strange certainly seems to have found a defender in you,” Sam said, watching the woman intently. 

Wanda bristled. “Doctor Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme for a reason. He’s powerful, stupid powerful. He could’ve locked my powers away or even ripped them from me, but he didn’t. He gave me the chance to learn to control my powers, instead of my powers controlling me, and I am eternally grateful for it. Plus, I’ve seen into his mind and he’s seen into mine. It was not a pleasant experience, having my powers turned back on myself. You have no idea what he’s gone through, for the world, for Tony, for us. So shut up.”

Stephen knew the moment the spell took hold and Tony’s lungs cleared up, because his screaming rocketed up in volume.

“We were just asking,” Carol said gently. She’d have to find out exactly what had happened in Kamar-Taj. Vision put his hand on Wanda’s back, calming her quietly.

Stephen walked around the room, rubbing Tony’s back and humming quietly. Slowly, Tony began to quiet, little hands fisted in the Cloak. Stephen ignored the discussion of the Avengers in favor of calming down the child in his arms.

Tony Stark had been through more than enough in his lifetime. He didn’t need this shit on top of it.

Scott and Clint were grinning at him as he wiped Tony’s nose.

“What?” Stephen asked, arching his eyebrow.

“Just didn’t think you’d be such a dad,” Clint said with a grin. His smirk widened at the blush flaring across Stephen’s cheeks.

“I just want to know why Tony didn’t react sooner to Steve,” Rhodey said, drawing attention away from Stephen.

Peter frowned, thinking. “Oh!” he said, raising his hand.

Carol smiled. “Peter, we’ve talked about this. You don’t have to raise your hand here.”

“Right, sorry.”

“You were going to say?” Carol asked.

“Oh yeah. The beard,” Peter said.

“What?” Sam asked, glancing at Steve.

“The beard! Captain Rogers didn’t have the beard during the Civil War. It’s like those videos of kids who see their dad without their beard for the first time and they freak! If Mr. Stark has been having nightmares about that time, then—”

“He would recognize the shield but not me,” Steve said wearily. 

“The kid has a point,” Rhodey said. “Tony never saw him with the beard during Thanos. By the time he and Nebula returned from Titan, you had shaved it off. It was only when you grew it out this past year that he’d seen you with it. It makes sense that he wouldn’t recognize you until he saw the shield.”

“Tony and I have been working on our…issues,” Steve said quietly, looking at his hands. He did feel bad for making the child cry. It was hard for him to reconcile the Tony Stark he knew with the sobbing child in Strange’s arms.

“We know,” Rhodey said. “Tony’s said it’s been helping, but at this point he’s two. He doesn’t understand. He only knows that he’s seen that shield in his nightmares and that it nearly killed him.”

Stephen’s head shot up at that.

“You tried to kill him?” he asked, voice dangerously quiet.

Steve opened his mouth to defend his actions again.

“Yeah, he did. We did,” Bucky said. Steve was silent next to him.

“Possibly not the smartest thing to say to the man who gave up half the universe to make sure Tony lived,” Wanda muttered quietly. Vision squeezed her hand gently and she smiled at him.

Stephen looked between Rogers and Barnes, eyes drifting over the rest of the Avengers. “I don’t know what happened during the Civil War beyond what was announced in the news. However, I would think that a group of people like you could learn to move past it. You only fight together when you have something to bring you all together, and then you fracture.”

Stephen rubbed Tony’s back, eyes moving from Avenger to Avenger. They sat still and silent under his gaze, only Wanda seemingly relaxed. She had been on the receiving end of his tirades before.

Tony seemed exhausted, head on Stephen’s shoulder with eyes half closed. His face was red from screaming and his cheeks were streaked with tears.

“You all need to learn an important lesson,” Stephen said, opening a portal back to the tower.

“And that is?” Steve said, feeling slightly defensive. This man didn’t know them, didn’t know what they had been through.

Stephen’s eyes locked with Steve’s. 

“It’s not about you,” Stephen said shortly. Scott handed him the diaper bag and Stephen nodded his thanks.

“I’ll contact you in a bit,” Pepper said quietly. Stephen nodded, stepping through the portal and closing it behind him.

The sudden silence seemed to echo around the room.

“Please keep us informed,” Carol said, standing up. Pepper nodded to her shortly. “Meeting is adjourned. As per Doctor Strange and Ms. Pott’s requests, keep this quiet. Reach out to Doctor Strange if you want to see Tony. Something tells me just showing up would end poorly for us.”

Peter nodded, standing up and grabbing his bag. He shifted uncomfortably and waved briefly before running out the door. T’Challa and Shuri said their farewells and the holograms vanished. Wanda and Vision followed not long after, followed closely by Bruce, Scott, and Hope. Clint and Sam stood up and headed for the training rooms, Natasha on their heels. Carol squeezed Steve’s shoulder as she walked out. 

“C’mon, Stevie,” Bucky said. “Let’s go for a run.” 

Steve and Bucky walked out, Bucky waving goodbye to Rhodes and Pepper.

“That went well,” Rhodey said after a minute.

“Better than I anticipated,” Pepper said.

“Good thinking on Peter’s part about Steve’s beard.”

“It was,” Pepper said, scrubbing her face. She stood up. “I need to get back. Make sure SI hasn’t imploded in the last hour.”

“Good luck. See you later,” Rhodey said. Pepper waved and walked out.

Rhodey smiled wryly, thinking about the way Doctor Strange had put them all in their place.

“Man needs to be a bloody Avenger just to keep us in check,” he said, standing up and walking out the door.

:::

The moment Stephen stepped through to Tony’s penthouse he dropped the diaper bag and the Cloak flew off his shoulders. Tony let out little whimpering cries as Stephen walked around the living room.

He went to set to Tony on the couch so he could take off his tunic, but the boy let out a wail. Stephen pulled him back against his chest, his lips against Tony’s downy hair.

“I’m sorry,” Stephen said. “I’m sorry that man is an idiot. Just give me a moment, okay?”

The Cloak helped him juggle Tony while he struggled out of the tunic one handed. He could magic all his clothes off, or none of them. He hadn’t found an in between option yet. He got his shoes off and pulled Tony close, just in the loose pants and sleeveless under tunic.

Tony clung to him, tears welling in his eyes again. Stephen walked around the room and started to sing.

“Swing low, sweet chariot,” Stephen started, his deep voice quiet. Tony listened, sniffing quietly. 

Stephen lowered himself to the couch, Tony against his chest. He stretched out, Tony sprawled across his stomach. He could feel Tony’s heart fluttering against his stomach, and Tony’s head rested just over his own heart. He rested his hand over Tony’s back protectively.

Stephen kept singing, switching songs when he reached the end of one, until Tony fell asleep.

Stephen lay there in silence, listening to Tony’s breathing. The child’s heartbeat was a steady reminder against his skin that he was alive. Tony was alive, he was okay. Stephen would get him back to normal, no matter how much time it took. 

FRIDAY dimmed the lights and darkened the windows, and Stephen let the knowledge that Tony was safe lull him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that. Stephen needs a raise in the worst way.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are love.


	8. What's Mine is Mine and what's yours is mine too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper and Happy bring dinner, Tony hits the 'mine' stage and wants what Stephen has, Stephen just wants dinner and sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's this chapter. Not much happens plotwise (and yes, somehow this has developed a plot that will start to come into play next chapter). This is mostly just Stephen and Tony being soft and recovering from the meeting with the Avengers. The Avengers will come into play again later. Some Happy and Pepper flirting in this one.
> 
> I'll admit I was a little worried about how Wanda would be received, but I'm glad she hasn't made anyone try to punch me yet. I like Wanda (hell, I plan on cosplaying her at SakuraCon next year) and she will be pretty important to a plot point. Steve...well, Steve lacks common sense sometimes. 
> 
> Again, THANK YOU for the amazing response on this story. It completely blows me away. Seriously, you guys mean so much to me and every comment fills me with joy.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It was fun. Kind of felt like an abrupt ending but it needed to end there. I know I end it with them falling asleep a lot, but it's a natural segue.
> 
> not beta-ed/

Happy unlocked the door to Tony’s penthouse and held it open for Pepper, two take-n-bake pizzas in his hand. Pepper flashed him a smile and stepped through. The penthouse was dark, blinds drawn and lights down.

“Stephen?” Pepper called quietly.

“They’re both asleep,” FRIDAY’s said softly.

“Thank you, FRIDAY,” Pepper said. Happy closed the door behind them and took the pizzas to the fridge. Pepper looked in the bedroom, noting the empty bed, and continued to the open plan living room. She glanced at the couch and couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face.

Stephen was stretched out on the couch, Tony sprawled across his chest. One of Stephen’s hands was curled protectively over Tony’s bottom. Both were deeply asleep. Pepper took a quick picture; it was one of the cutest things she had ever seen. 

She took a moment to look at Stephen. He wore a sleeveless tunic, revealing surprisingly toned arms. It frankly made her wonder what else he was hiding under those robes. His hair was mussed, falling across his forehead and curling slightly at the end. It was interesting to see him look so human, instead of the stiff sorcerer he presented to the world.

“I’m starting to think you have a thing for egotistical bastards with great facial hair,” Happy whispered in her ear. She laughed quietly and swatted at him.

“Hush, you. Even you can’t deny that he has a nice body. I’m not blind,” she said, trying for dignity.

Happy grinned at her and she rolled her eyes. He rubbed his chin. “Maybe I should grow a goatee. You think I’d be sexy then?”

She laughed and kissed his cheek. “You’re perfectly sexy the way you are.”

He blew her a kiss and moved back to the kitchen. Pepper sat down, a Starkpad in her lap. She quietly started doing some work, glancing up at Tony and Stephen every so often. She set the photo of them as her phone background, smiling at Happy as he dropped into the chair next to her.

They sat in a familiar silence brought about from years of working together. Happy dozed off in the late afternoon quiet, snoring quietly.

After an hour or so, Pepper heard shifting from the couch and looked up. Tony was sitting up, legs on either side of Stephen’s stomach. He leaned on Stephen’s chest with his hands, looking around the darkened room. Pepper set her Starkpad aside and stood up, walking up to Tony and Stephen.

He smiled up at her, rubbing his eyes. She could see crusties on his eyelashes, most likely from all his crying.

“Hey, Tony,” she said quietly. She lifted him into her arms and he hugged her. “Let’s let Stephen sleep a bit more, okay?”

“Kay,” Tony said. The Cloak hovered nearby, keeping its metaphorical eyes on Tony. It followed them as Pepper walked to the bathroom and got a washcloth wet, gently wiping Tony’s face.

“Now I know you have a magic diaper, but I see Stephen has baby powder in here,” Pepper murmured.

“The doc has been putting the powder on the boss every couple of hours or so,” FRIDAY said. “The diaper gets rid of all the waste, but his skin is still sensitive.”

“Fancy. They could make a killing of that,” Pepper said. She spread a towel out on the floor and set Tony on it. “Then shall we, Mr. Stark?”

Tony gave her a weird look and she laughed, leaning over and blowing a raspberry against his stomach. Tony squealed with laughter, legs kicking and fingers tangling in her hair as it fell around him like a curtain.

Pepper smiled and undid the diaper, impressed as Stephen had been at how clean it was. She grabbed the baby powder and lifted Tony’s legs, listening to him babble at her.

“You know, I always figured I’d end up changing your diapers one day, but this is not exactly the way I thought this would happen,” Pepper said, pinning the diaper back in place. Tony grinned at her as she lifted him back into her arms. Pepper carried him back to the living room, smiling at Happy.

Happy smiled back, holding out the Spider-Man plush. Tony cooed and snatched it, babbling excitedly at the plush. 

“I see Stephen bought you some pretty awesome coloring books,” Happy said, looking at the oversized coloring books on the coffee table. “Wanna color, Tony?”

“Yeah,” Tony said. Pepper set him down and Tony toddled over to Happy. Happy flopped on the floor, spreading out the various coloring books. “Which one?” Happy asked Tony as the toddler plopped down on his butt next to Happy.

Tony looked over the four choices, finally pointing at the Disney Princess one. Happy chuckled and put the others away. Tony gleefully turned the pages, looking at the pictures of the princesses. Happy sprawled out on his stomach, handing Tony crayons. Tony babbled happily as he scribbled willy nilly all over Tiana’s dress.

“Beautiful,” Happy said, taking the crayon back from Tony and offering him another.

Pepper smiled and took a photo of Happy and Tony. She stood up and headed to the kitchen, turning the oven on to preheat for the pizzas. She went back out to the living room, hiding her laugh as she saw Happy happily coloring in a dancing Belle and Beast. She sat back down and pulled her Starkpad back to her, idly checking a few more emails.

She lost track of time as she listened to Happy talk quietly to Tony and Tony chatter excitedly back, their voices barely covering the sounds of crayon on paper. It didn’t take long for her to register soft whimpers coming from the couch.

She lifted her eyes to Stephen. He had a sheen of sweat across his face and was shifting on the couch, fingers clenching. She stood up and moved slowly to him. She knew better than to touch him in the middle of a nightmare; she had plenty of experience dealing with Tony’s nightmares.

She went completely still when Stephen started talking in his sleep, her heart clenching.

“Spare his life and I’ll give you the stone,” Stephen whispered, his voice agonizingly soft. 

Pepper covered her mouth, eyes widening. Tony never told her exactly what happened on Titan, but she was aware that Stephen had traded the stone for Tony’s life.

Stephen whined, twitching on the couch. Pepper knelt next to him, hand hovering over his shoulder.

“Stephen? Doctor Strange?” she whispered. She was aware of Happy keeping Tony entertained, distracting the boy from Stephen’s distraught form. “FRIDAY, bring up the lights a little.”

The lights brightened a bit, a few of the blinds opening.

“No other way,” Stephen whimpered, “Tony, there was no other way…TONY!” Stephen sat up with a shout.

“Easy,” Pepper said quietly, one hand on Stephen’s shoulder. “Tony’s right here.”

Tony had jumped at his name, spinning to look at Stephen. He crawled over to him, not bothering getting to his feet. He used the couch to stand up and touched Stephen’s hip.

“Stephen?” Tony said.

Stephen’s hands shook violently as he pulled Tony into his arms. Tony hugged him tightly around the neck, cooing happily in his ear at the affection. Stephen buried his face in Tony’s soft hair, taking shuddering breaths and trying to get a handle on his emotions. He hoped that Pepper couldn’t see the tears in his eyes. If she did, she wisely didn’t mention it.

He hated that dream. He hated all of his dreams. 

Tony patted Stephen’s face, smacking a loud kiss against his cheek.

“Thank you,” Stephen said, giving Tony a soft smile. Tony cuddled happily against him while Stephen shuddered, his hands running over Tony’s back. He glanced up at Pepper, dropping his eyes.

“We brought take-n-bake pizza,” Pepper said, not mentioning what had just happened. “Happy just put them in the oven, so it’ll be a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said roughly. He stood up and went to set Tony down, but the boy cried out and clung to him. “Okay,” Stephen said softly to him. “You can come with me to the bathroom then.” He looked at Pepper. “I’ll be right back.”

“Of course,” Pepper said. She watched as Stephen walked down the hall with Tony his arms. Tony rested his head on Stephen’s shoulder, fingers playing with the hair at the base of Stephen’s skull.

Stephen set Tony on the floor and turned on the tap, holding his shaking hands under the water. Tony got to his feet and hugged Stephen’s legs. Stephen figured Tony would be a little clingy after the meeting with the Avengers.

Stephen ran his fingers through his hair, trying to smooth it back. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked pale and shaken, as he usually did after that dream.

He hated that Pepper and Happy had seen him like that, but he was grateful they hadn’t said anything. He hoped they didn’t say anything as the night went on.

“Alright,” Stephen said after a moment, lifting Tony back up. Tony curled against him, happy to be held. Stephen walked back out, the smell of pizza wafting through the penthouse. The Cloak hovered next to him, reaching out and letting Tony grab it.

“Did the meeting last much longer after I left?” Stephen asked, sitting back on the couch. Pepper looked at him from her chair.

“No. Carol reminded everyone that you are Tony’s main caretaker and if they want to visit they have to go through you then ended it. Scott caught up to me before I left the compound and gave me this to give to you to give to Tony, along with the message that he’s still totally down for a team up,” Pepper said, grinning at Stephen’s hard eye roll. She reached into her bag and passed Stephen a box.

Stephen took it, ignoring the pain in his hands at the action.

“Baby’s First Magic Set,” he said dryly. Tony cooed and reached for the box, banging it against Stephen’s thigh in excitement.

“Ouch, stop,” Stephen said, fighting back a laugh. Tony grinned up at him. “Don’t you give me that innocent look,” Stephen said, tapping Tony’s nose.

Stephen held the box out to the Cloak and it gleefully tore it open. Stephen and Pepper grinned as Tony slid off Stephen’s lap onto the floor, looking through the contents of the box.

Tony ignored the ‘magic’ wand and put the top hat on, holding onto the stuffed rabbit by the ear. The oversized deck of cards were immediately scattered all over the place as Tony decided to play an impromptu game of 52 card pick up. Tony picked up the little magician’s cape and snorted in disgust when it didn’t move. He tossed it aside, digging through the rest of the set. The Cloak shivered in excitement, dropping over Tony’s shoulders.

Happy covered his mouth, trying so hard not to burst out laughing. Pepper smiled, taking pictures. Tony held the hat out to Stephen, getting slowly to his feet and walking all over the cards to climb back in his lap. Tony grinned and perched the hat on Stephen’s head.

“Dinner’s ready,” Happy managed to get out, his stomach hurting from trying not to laugh.

Pepper smiled and stood up. “I’ll bring yours and Tony’s, Stephen.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said, letting Tony stand on his thighs to get to the hat, the Cloak spilling from Tony’s shoulders and covering Stephen’s legs. Tony chattered away at Stephen, looking at him earnestly.

Stephen smiled wryly and tucked a fly away strand of hair behind Tony’s ear. “A nap actually seemed to have helped you today. Wish it had helped me.”

Tony knocked the hat off Stephen’s head, laughing joyously. 

“You are making such a mess,” Stephen said dryly as Pepper and Happy walked out of the kitchen carrying plates and drinks. Tony clapped his hands then tangled his fingers in the Cloak.

“Dinner is served,” Happy said.

“Thank you,” Stephen said, trying to balance a wriggling Tony and a plate on his lap. Tony reached for the pizza, sticking his fingers in the cheese.

“Hey, that’s supposed to be mine,” Stephen said with a huff.

“Mine!” Tony said, cramming a wad of cheese in his mouth.

“This is yours, Tony,” Pepper said, holding out a smaller piece.

Tony looked at it, frowning. He missed Stephen quickly taking a bite of his slice, but let out a disgruntled sound when he saw the bite missing out of the piece.

“No!” Tony said, pushing at Stephen’s face.

“Well excuse me,” Stephen said, reaching around Tony taking another bite. “Mmm, it’s so good.”

“Mine!” Tony said, his face screwed up.

Pepper tried to hide her snicker behind her slice, failing miserably.

“Oh, we’re at the ‘mine’ stage already, I see,” Stephen said, taking another bite much to Tony’s dismay.

“Tony’s been at the ‘mine’ stage since the day he was born,” Pepper said. Happy snorted.

Stephen held Tony’s slice out to him, but the boy pushed it away with a face. He reached for Stephen’s piece and Stephen let him take a bite with a sigh.

“Mine,” Tony said, crumbs spraying across the Cloak.

“Fine, I’ll eat yours then,” Stephen said, taking a bite of the second slice.

“No! Mine!” Tony cried, dropping Stephen’s piece and reaching for his own.

“You didn’t want it!” Stephen said.

“Mine!”

Stephen let Tony take a bite, reaching for his original piece. He managed a bite before Tony let out an indignant cry. 

“No! Mine!”

“For the love of…” Stephen muttered. “I just want to eat dinner, you little shi—monster.”

Happy howled with laughter, setting his own slice aside so he didn’t drop it. Pepper snickered, recording the shenanigans with her phone. Stephen just gave her a flustered look.

Tony held both slices of pizza in his hands, taking a bite of one and then the other.

Stephen just shook his head and flopped back against the couch, Tony happily eating in his lap.

Tony turned and held one of the slices out to Stephen. The toppings had been absolutely decimated by greasy little fingers.

“Oh, are you sharing now?”

“Yes,” Tony said sweetly.

“Well, thank you,” Stephen said, taking what was left of the slice and eating it quickly before Tony could change his mind. He had eaten far worse than pizza that was mostly destroyed by a toddler.

Tony wiped his fingers across Stephen’s face, getting cheese on his goatee. “Will you stop?” Stephen said, capturing Tony’s hands in a loose a grip.

“No!” Tony said, laughing.

“Here,” Happy said, handing Stephen another slice. 

“Thank you,” Stephen said, taking a bite. He offered another bite to Tony, smiling wryly when the boy happily took three.

“I think you just want what I have,” Stephen said.

“Yeah!” Tony said, reaching for the pizza. Stephen managed to get another bite before Tony tore the slice in half and crammed his half in his mouth. Tony grinned at him, pizza half falling out of his mouth.

“You’re disgusting,” Stephen said. 

Tony blew a raspberry at him, showering Stephen’s face in half masticated pizza.

Stephen closed his eyes, listening to Pepper and Happy fall apart laughing. Tony giggled happily, grinning widely. He shook his head, fighting his own smile as he wiped his face with a napkin.

“Sorry,” Pepper said, stifling her giggles.

Stephen just smiled, shrugging slightly. “Better than some things I’ve been covered in. You wouldn’t believe what happens when a giant squid with wings blows up all over you.”

“That sounds disgusting,” Pepper said.

“It was. Couldn’t get the smell off for a week,” Stephen said.

“Gross,” Happy said, making a disgusted face.

“Gross!” Tony yelled, wiping his hands on the Cloak.

Stephen groaned. “Good thing the Cloak is self cleaning.” The Cloak preened under Tony’s hands, fluttering across their laps.

They finished their pizza, chatting easily about safe topics. As Happy cleaned up, Stephen looked at Pepper.

“Thank you for bringing dinner. You didn’t have to.”

“It’s not a problem,” Pepper said, watching as Tony cuddled into Stephen’s chest. The Cloak settled around Tony, wrapping him up like a little burrito. “I wanted to make sure you were both okay after that meeting.”

Stephen ran his fingers through Tony’s hair, smiling slightly as the boy closed his eyes and burrowed against him with a sigh. “It didn’t go as badly as I was fearing, although Rogers bringing that damn shield in was a stupid move.”

“Rogers does lack common sense,” Pepper said. “It was smart of Peter to think of the beard as the reason he didn’t freak out about him right off the bat.”

“It was, and it makes sense,” Stephen said, unconsciously rocking Tony in his arms. Tony sighed, sticking his hand in his mouth and sucking on his knuckles.

“Tony seems like he’s okay,” Pepper said, watching Stephen rock the boy with a smile.

“He was pretty clingy when we came through, and again after I woke up,” Stephen said.

“I think you’re going to be stuck with him until the curse is broken,” Pepper said gently.

“I know,” Stephen said, brushing Tony’s hair back.

“You don’t seem to mind,” Pepper said softly.

Stephen ducked his head, hair falling across his forehead. “I feel partially responsible for Tony ending up like this. I don’t mind watching over him.”

Being near Tony—at any age—wasn’t a hardship for Stephen. He brushed his lips over Tony’s forehead.

“He deserves to be happy…after everything,” Stephen said softly.

Pepper stood up, gathering her things. She smiled at him, resting her hand on his shoulder. “I think it’s more than that, but I understand. We’ll keep in contact. Let me know if Rogers does anything stupid.”

Stephen nodded, swallowing hard. Pepper squeezed his shoulder and followed a waving Happy out the door.

Stephen looked at the sleeping toddler in his arms and pressed another kiss against his forehead. Maybe it was something more than guilt, but he would never tell.

After a few minutes, Stephen stood and carried Tony into the bedroom. He held Tony with one arm, grateful for the Cloak taking most of his weight. He grabbed his pajamas and clean underwear and headed towards the bathroom.

The Cloak hovered in the middle of the bathroom, Tony sleeping in its embrace. Stephen quickly stripped and stepped into the shower, standing under the hot spray. His hands trembled at his side, a deep ache moving up his arms.

He glanced at Tony, glad to see he was still sleeping, and decided he deserved a bath. He flipped the switch to close the drain and watched as hot water began to fill the tub. Stephen groaned as he lowered himself into the steaming water, sinking in up to his shoulders.

Tony Stark’s bathtub was bloody magnificent, and he was definitely coming back to use it after this whole thing was over. Even if he had to portal in and use it when Tony was out.

He let his hands hover in the water, the heat soothing some of the chronic pain. He sighed, thinking about the events of the past couple of days. He had a feeling it was only going to get crazier.

He heard Tony mumbling and opened his eyes, smiling when he saw Tony looking at him. The Cloak set Tony on the floor, slowly unwrapping from him when it was sure that Tony’s feet were under him. 

Tony grinned at Stephen and walked to the edge of the tub, clinging to side of it. 

“Hello there,” Stephen said, smiling slightly.

“Hi!” Tony said. He hung off the side, little legs kicking as he struggled to pull himself up.

“Oh no, what are you doing?” Stephen started. “Tony, no, not—”

Tony bellyflopped into the tub, sending water everywhere. 

“In your clothes,” Stephen finished dryly. He sat up straight, holding Tony steady and with his head above the water. The tub was deep enough that the water went to Tony’s chin when he stood on the bottom of it, so Stephen balanced Tony on his lap.

Tony grinned up at him, sopping wet.

“You are a menace, sir,” Stephen said. “Arms up. Let me at least get you out of the shirt.”

Tony laughed as Stephen pulled the shirt off and tossed it out of the tub. He’d toss all of Tony’s clothes in the dryer after their bath. Stephen reached out with his foot and pulled the drain, stopping it back up when the water was below his belly button.

“Alright, Tony, if you’re going to be in here you’re getting a proper bath,” Stephen said, wrestling Tony out of his soaking wet shorts. The wet clothes joined the Hulk shirt, leaving Tony in just his diaper. Stephen used magic to unpin it, squeezing it out as best he could. The Cloak handed Stephen the cup, and Stephen sat Tony on the bottom of the tub between his legs. Tony put his hands on Stephen’s knees, gently patting them and playing with his kneecaps.

“I was quite enjoying my bath before you interrupted, you know,” Stephen said, no heat in his voice. “Head back.”

Tony tilted his head back and Stephen poured water over Tony’s head, fingers gently scrubbing.

“I see you still had some sand in your hair. It wasn’t very nice of that girl to shove sand in your face, was it?”

“No,” Tony said petulantly. Stephen chuckled, setting the cup on the edge of the tub. Tony started splashing, smacking his palms against Stephen’s knees.

“Monster,” Stephen said fondly.

“Monster!” Tony said.

Stephen sat with Tony in the tub while the water slowly started to cool, letting the boy splash to his heart’s content. Finally, he used his toes to pull the drain again, smiling at Tony’s laughter as the boy chased the water, splashing at the little whirlpool that formed as the water went down the drain.

“Okay, let’s get you dried off,” Stephen said, pulling Tony carefully to him and getting out of the tub. He grabbed Tony’s towel and quickly dried him off before taking his own towel and repeating the motion with himself. He pulled on his pajama pants and gathered Tony’s dripping clothes. He touched the diaper, noting that it was still wet.

“Well, I guess you get pull-ups while I throw these in the dryer,” Stephen said. 

“No!” Tony said, taking off running down the hall butt naked.

Stephen dropped his head, fighting back the laugh. He shrugged and stopped in the laundry room, tossing the clothes and the diaper in the dryer and starting it. It wouldn’t take long to dry.

He walked back to the living room, smiling at Tony sprawled on the floor, coloring intently in his princess coloring book again.

“Tony, I’m going to the kitchen.”

Tony scrambled to his feet and pattered after him, unwilling to be alone. He clung to Stephen’s leg while the man made himself tea and poured Tony fresh apple juice. He was thankful to see heat pads and grabbed some for his hands.

Tony followed him back to the living room, going back to his coloring.

“FRIDAY, I guess put on _My Little Pony_ again,” Stephen said, sitting back on the couch.

The TV lit up, the colorful ponies going about their adventures in friendship and magic. 

“You just going to let him hang out nekkid?” FRIDAY asked.

Stephen shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I don’t feel like fighting with him, and it’s not like anyone’s going to see him.”

“What if he goes to the bathroom without that diaper?” FRIDAY asked cautiously.

“Then I clean it up,” Stephen said simply, sighing slightly as he rested the heat pads over his hands.

“Better you than me, doc,” FRIDAY said cheerfully.

“You don’t have hands,” Stephen pointed out.

“Eh, semantics,” FRIDAY replied.

Stephen laughed, head back against the couch. The heat seeped into his hands, alleviating some of the pain.

Tony finished the picture he was coloring and carried it to Stephen, handing it to him.

“For me?” Stephen asked, taking it with one hand. He laughed quietly; Tony had just scribbled a lot of reds and blues over Tiana. 

“You,” Tony said.

“Oh, is this me? I’m a princess now, huh?”

“Yeah!”

“Thank you very much,” Stephen said. Tony grinned up at him and plopped down next to his Spider-Man plush, focusing on the TV. Stephen smiled at the drawing, setting it carefully on the coffee table.

He sat back and watched the show with Tony, letting his mind wander. He heard the dryer stop and stood up, Tony following him with as he walked back to the laundry room.

“Everything’s all dry now,” Stephen said to Tony, pulling the clothes out. He grabbed the diaper and held it up. “And you’re getting this back on.”

“No!” Tony yelled, grinning. He took off running again, Stephen chasing after him.

“I’m going to get you!” Stephen yelled, laughing.

Tony screeched with laughter, running as fast as his little legs could carry him. Stephen chased him around the couch and up and down the hall a few times, finally scooping the boy into his arms.

Tony laughed breathlessly, face red with exertion and laughter. Stephen kissed his forehead and carried him back to the bathroom, quickly sprinkling baby powder on his butt and using magic to pin the diaper.

“There you go,” Stephen said, helping Tony stand and patting him on the butt. “All secure.”

Tony hugged him and Stephen stood up, walking back to the living room. He sat on the couch, Tony in his lap, and rested the heat pads over his hands again.

Tony touched the scars lacing the back of Stephen’s hands, looking up at Stephen.

“Owie?” Tony asked.

“Yes, it was a big owie,” Stephen said softly, letting Tony turn his hand.

Tony touched the myriad of scars on his own chest. “Owie?” he said seriously.

“Very big owie,” Stephen said, rubbing his thumb over Tony’s small hand. Tony sat in Stephen’s lap, seeming to contemplate their scars. He pressed a kiss to Stephen’s scars, looking up at him hopefully.

“Better?” Tony asked.

Stephen smiled, pulling Tony close in a hug. “Better,” he said. His hands would always hurt, but at that moment, it didn’t matter.

Tony smiled brilliantly at him, curling against him as he continued to watch Twilight Sparkle and friends. Stephen reclined on the couch, one hand resting against Tony’s stomach, the other covered by the heat pad.

He finished his tea sometime later and the Cloak took their empty cups back to the kitchen.

“Bedtime, Tony,” Stephen said, carrying the flagging boy back to the bathroom. He quickly brushed both their teeth and used the bathroom again, washing his hands and picking Tony back up.

He walked to the bedroom, FRIDAY dimming the lights behind him as he walked. He sat on Tony’s massive bed, Tony blinking big brown eyes at him. Tony pointed at the book on the table.

“You want me to read a little more?” Stephen asked.

Tony nodded, yawning big.

Stephen smiled and the Cloak handed him the book, practically wiggling with excitement. Stephen opened the book to his marked page.

“Now, where were we? Ah, here we are. _‘Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He had also been called a Muggle, whatever that was,’_ Stephen began. Tony didn’t seem to mind that there were no pictures, his eyes slipping closed after a few more pages.

Once Stephen was sure the boy was asleep, he carefully stood up and set Tony in his Hulk bed. He covered him with a light blanket, tucking Spider-Man in next to him. He brushed a kiss over Tony’s still damp hair.

“You had a rough day today, Tony. Tomorrow will be better. Sleep well.”

He stood up and crawled back into the big bed, stretching out over the luxurious sheets.

“You have a very nice reading voice,” FRIDAY said softly.

“Hmm? Thank you,” Stephen said. “I’m sure you’ve read the book before.”

“Of course, I have them all archived. But it’s…nice to have someone read to me,” FRIDAY said.

“Tony doesn’t?” Stephen asked, eyes half closed.

“I’ve never asked,” FRIDAY admitted.

Stephen hummed. “I bet he would if you asked.”

“You think so?”

“I do,” Stephen said. “But until then, I’m perfectly happy reading to all of you.” He waved his hand, including the Cloak in the ‘everyone’.

“Thank you, Doc,” FRIDAY said. “Wong left a message while you were in the bath. He asked if you could bring Tony to Kamar-Taj tomorrow at your earliest convenience. He said they haven’t figured out how to break the curse, but he wants to study it up close for a bit again.”

“Sure thing,” Stephen mumbled, sleep quickly taking him.

FRIDAY turned the rest of the lights off, leaving only one small nightlight on for Tony. The Cloak hovered between Tony and Stephen, watching over them both as they slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are love!


	9. Do Thine Eyes Deceive Me?  Could That Be Hints of...A PLOT?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen goes to Kamar-Taj and learns some unwelcome news, beats up on a novice, and wards Tony's penthouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when I started this story there wasn't really an over reaching plot in mind. It was supposed to be just scenes of Tony and Stephen being cute together until I decided to make him an adult again. But then a few nights ago I was hit upside the head with PLOT and I cursed a little, but I really want some of the scenes that involve the plot to happen. The plot will mostly take place behind the scenes still, the main focus will be on Stephen and Tony, but it will come up.
> 
> On that, there is less Tony and Stephen interaction in this chapter. I'm not fully happy with how this turned out, but this chapter was kind of a bridge into the rest of it. I just needed to get this chapter out. I hope you all enjoy it anyway.
> 
> not beta-ed

Stephen was exhausted. Tony had woken up screaming no less than four times over the night, and had taken at least forty minutes to get back to sleep each time. Stephen walked around the penthouse, Tony in his arms, trying to soothe him from the latest nightmare. The boy sniffed and petted Stephen’s hair, tears falling onto Stephen’s bare shoulder.

Stephen was going to let the Cloak throttle Rogers the next time he saw him.

Tony finally drifted off again and Stephen flopped onto the couch with the boy in his arms. His head fell back against the back of the couch, eyes half closed. The Cloak hovered worriedly nearby, patting Stephen’s shoulder.

“It’s not like I’ve never done long hours before,” Stephen grumbled. “I shouldn’t be this tired yet.”

“Well, I imagine the stress is getting to ya,” FRIDAY said quietly.

“Being a neurosurgeon wasn’t exactly stress free,” Stephen said.

“True, but how many times did you deal with Earth’s Greatest Defender as a toddler?”

“This is a first, although honestly I wouldn’t be surprised to find out this has happened to him before.”

“It hasn’t,” FRIDAY said. “Lots of other weird things seem to follow the boss, but not this.”

Stephen rubbed Tony’s back as the boy slept, drooling against his shoulder.

“Isn’t there some kind of magic to take his dreams away?” FRIDAY asked.

“There is, but given his history with magic, I wouldn’t use that kind of invasive spell on him without his permission.”

“Have you considered using them on yourself?” FRIDAY said.

Stephen was quiet for a moment. “My dreams…sometimes I have a good dream, and the spell doesn’t differentiate between nightmares and good dreams. Yes, my nightmares are bad, but those rare good dreams…they’re worth it.”

“What is it like to dream?” FRIDAY asked. Stephen tilted his head and looked at the ceiling.

“Why?” he asked, not unkindly. He was just curious as to why an AI would ask about dreams.

“The Boss isn’t much for existential discussions,” FRIDAY said honestly.  
Stephen’s lips curled into a smile. “Do androids dream of electric sheep?”

“That you’d have to ask Vision,” FRIDAY said, laughter in her voice.

Stephen chuckled, shifting Tony across his chest. He quietly started to talk about dreams and nightmares, speaking to FRIDAY about the books he’d read in Kamar-Taj about dreams, and how his dreams had changed after becoming a sorcerer.

He glanced at the clock and sighed. Every time he moved Tony whimpered, body tensing.

“I wonder what it would be like to dream,” FRIDAY mused.

“I’m sure Tony could write some kind of program,” Stephen said. “If not him, then Shuri.”

“I like her,” FRIDAY said. “She writes the best code mazes and puzzles for me to crack. I’m currently working on two hundred and forty two different ones right now. They range in difficulty.”

Stephen laughed quietly. “I imagine even her easiest one would stump a human.”

“Of course,” FRIDAY preened.

Stephen shifted on the couch, lying down with Tony on top of him. 

“Try to get some sleep,” FRIDAY said softly, playing quiet music. Stephen hummed his thanks and drifted off again, concentrating on the feel of Tony’s heart.

When he woke again, the sun was just starting to rise and Tony was still sleeping, much to Stephen’s relief. He sat up slowly, holding Tony close.

“Good morning, Doc,” FRIDAY said. “It’s 5:42 am, the weather is clear and it is supposed to be in the nineties today.”

“Morning,” Stephen said, standing up and stretching as best he could with Tony in his arms. “What’s the weather in Nepal?”

“Cooler than here, that’s for sure, would definitely recommend a light jacket for the boss,” FRIDAY replied.

Stephen nodded, gently laying Tony on the couch. He stood back up and started stretching, going through his daily yoga routine that he had neglected since Tony had been cursed.

He was stretched out in a plank when he felt little hands on his back. He turned his head, smiling slightly when Tony crawled onto his back, flopping across his shoulders with a sigh.

“Well, good morning to you, too,” Stephen said, engaging his core as his body started to tremble at the added weight of a toddler.

Tony babbled at him, squealing when Stephen lowered himself to the floor, rolled and grabbed Tony in an embrace.

“Let’s get dressed, eat breakfast, then head to Kamar-Taj, okay?” Stephen said.

“Kay,” Tony said. Stephen got to his feet and carried Tony back to the bedroom. He dropped Tony on the bed, smiling at the joyous laugh as Tony bounced on the mattress. Stephen went through the shirts he’d bought for Tony, holding up a few of them.

“Which one?”

Tony pointed straight at the Doctor Strange shirt, making Stephen roll his eyes. “Of course you’d want to wear that one when we have to go to Kamar-Taj. Like they don’t already think I’m full of myself.”

Tony chattered quietly at him while Stephen got his arms through the shirt. The Cloak handed Stephen the baby powder and he unpinned the diaper and sprinkled Tony’s butt before fastening it again. He dug out a little pair of cargo pants and managed to get Tony’s kicking legs into the pants and button them without him arguing too much. Last Stephen put Tony’s feet in the little socks, setting Tony on the floor with a soft kiss to his forehead.

Tony walked over to his bed and grabbed Spider-Man, sitting on the floor and babbling happily to the plush. Stephen quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt. He went into the bathroom, listening carefully for Tony but the boy seemed happy to just sit and talk to Spider-Man. 

Stephen created a quick portal and reached through to his bathroom at the Sanctum, grabbing his razor. Steadying his hands with magic, he touched up his goatee and took care of the stubble forming on his cheeks. He quickly styled his hair back and walked back out.

Tony scrambled to his feet and followed Stephen to the kitchen, dragging Spider-Man by the foot.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Stephen asked, opening the fridge.

“Food,” Tony said, hugging Stephen’s legs.

“Yes, that much I gathered,” Stephen said, rolling his eyes. He decided on waffles and got the ingredients out to mix the batter.

“My diet has gone to hell with you around, Tony,” Stephen said, pouring the batter into the waffle maker and closing the lid.

“You’re on a diet?” FRIDAY asked.

“Yeah, the ‘the fridge is empty and I have two dollars to my name’ diet,” Stephen said, heating water for tea and pouring Tony’s apple juice. “Being the Sorcerer Supreme doesn’t exactly pay. We do what we can, odd jobs and the like. In Kamar-Taj we get donations, usually for doing things like exorcisms. You would not believe the number of demons people summon there. Here in New York too, honestly.”

He tapped Tony on the head with his sippy cup and the boy took it, drinking it down. Stephen peeled the waffle out and stuck it on a plate. He used magic to cut it into bite sized pieces, knowing his hands wouldn’t handle holding the knife and fork steady at the moment.

“I’m sorry,” FRIDAY said.

“Not your fault,” Stephen said. “I used to be very well off. Not near the level of Tony, of course, but more than comfortable. I had multiple sports cars and watches that cost more than most people’s houses. After the wreck that destroyed my hands, I spent everything I had trying to find a cure, using the last of my savings to make it to Kamar-Taj. It certainly took some getting used to, but to be honest I feel weird having an unlimited credit card for the moment.”

He got the syrup out and warmed it up, pulling Tony into his lap as he sat down.

“Admittedly, I’ve learned to live without _things_ ,” Stephen said, grabbing a bit of waffle and dipping it in the syrup. “It’s…simpler, honestly.” He offered Tony a bite and the boy ate happily, smacking his lips. “My money was how I connected to people, and having that striped away certainly changed things.”

“Do you miss it?” FRIDAY asked.

“Sometimes. It was certainly easier to get what I wanted. Now I spend weekends cutting coupons and seeing how far I can stretch what money I do have. But…I’m content.” 

FRIDAY showed him the top news stories of the day while he and Tony ate breakfast, and when they were done Stephen stood up and washed the dishes. He lifted Tony and made the boy wash his sticky fingers.

“Alright, we’re almost ready,” Stephen said, carrying Tony back to the living room. He put snacks and a fresh cup full of juice in the diaper bag, along with a few little toys and activities. He had no idea how long there were going to be at Kamar-Taj and wanted to make sure he had enough to keep Tony entertained.

He grabbed Tony’s jacket and helped the boy put his arms in. He zipped it up and patted Tony’s head, grabbing his old Yankees hoodie and pulling it on. Usually if he went to Kamar-Taj he’d wear his robes, but he figured he wasn’t going to teach and he was tired enough not to care.

The Cloak settled over his shoulders as Stephen opened the portal. He picked up the diaper bag and then Tony, settling the boy on his hip. Tony held on to Spider-Man tightly, his free hand tangled in the hair at the base of Stephen’s skull. Stephen grabbed Tony’s sunglasses and slipped them on as an afterthought, already used to FRIDAY talking to him.

Stephen stepped through, closing the portal behind him. Tony looked around the courtyard of Kamar-Taj with interest, huddling closer to Stephen for warmth in the rapid change from New York. Stephen smiled slightly. It wasn’t cold in Kathmandu in the summer by any means, but it was certainly a change from New York City.

A group of novices ran through drills and Stephen chuckled, remembering his own time there. He nodded to the master leading the group and carried Tony into the main building. He headed for the library, figuring he’d find Wong there.

He was right; Wong was in the library along with nearly every master, minus the ones watching the Sanctums. Stephen slowed, feeling like it was a bit overkill for trying to reverse a de-aging curse.

“Wong?” he asked.

“Stephen, thank you for coming,” Wong said. Tony looked around, ducking his head shyly when one of the masters smiled at him.

“This seems like a bit much for breaking this curse,” Stephen said, hiking Tony higher on his hip. 

“We are here for a different purpose,” Master Kincade said with a sniff, eyeing Stephen’s casual wear with a sneer. Stephen barely suppressed his eyeroll at that. Kincade reminded him of Nicodemus West. 

“We are here to help,” Master Rivkah said, giving Kincade a dirty look. She turned back to Stephen and Tony and waved at the boy. Tony waved shyly, burying his face back in Stephen’s neck.

“Put him on the table so we can study the curse without your magic interfering with our readings,” one of the other masters said. Stephen walked to the table set up in the middle of the library, setting Tony in the center.

Tony let out an angry cry as Stephen stepped back, reaching for Stephen. The Cloak whipped itself off Stephen’s shoulders and hovered by Tony. The boy shrieked, hands grasping for Stephen.

The masters stepped forward, surrounding Tony and gesturing, each studying a different aspect of the curse. Tony’s screams for Stephen grew louder, and Stephen grew more and more agitated.

“Enough!” Stephen snapped, his voice cracking through the quiet murmurs of the other masters. He strode forward, the masters parting before him like water. He lifted the screaming toddler into his arms, rocking him back and forth.

“We weren’t finished,” Master Kincade huffed.

“You are now,” Stephen said.

“If you want him back to normal you need to let us study him,” Kincade said.

“He is a child, not an experiment,” Stephen said slowly, the Cloak flaring out behind him.

“He is a grown man.”

“That’s enough,” Wong said, stepping between Stephen and Kincade. “For the moment, Tony Stark is a child. Doctor Strange is his primary caretaker, and he takes that job very seriously. We have what we need to dissect this curse without Stark or Doctor Strange here.”

Kincade gave a mocking bow and turned on his heel, stalking out of the room.

"Remind me again why you wanted me to promote him from novice?" Stephen asked.

“Because we’re still woefully short on Masters,” Wong said.

Stephen just sighed.

The masters dispersed, leaving Stephen and Wong alone in the library.

“Why were the masters really here?” Stephen asked tightly. As Sorcerer Supreme, he was supposed to be leading these meetings.

“Something’s come up, and you’re not going to like it,” Wong said, leading Stephen to his office. Stephen pulled out Tony’s sippy cup and handed it to him, using tissues to wipe his nose.

“This is the real reason I wanted you here,” Wong said, sliding some photos across to Stephen. Stephen sat down, Tony in his lap. He pulled the top photo to him, staring at it.

“Who was this?” Stephen asked slowly.

“One of our former students,” Wong said. “Before your time. She had been grievously wounded, and like you, sought healing.” 

“She’s dead,” Stephen said flatly, offering Tony a baggie of crackers. Tony happily dug in, blissfully ignorant of the heavy discussion going on between the adults. 

“Her magic was stripped from her,” Wong said. “Yesterday evening, local time.”

“Mordo,” Stephen said, closing his eyes. “He’s been laying low since The Dusting was reversed.”

“Yes,” Wong said. He handed Stephen another photo. “But it’s this that has me particularly worried.”

Stephen took the photo and looked at it, putting it back face down on the desk. He felt like he was going to be sick and he buried his nose in Tony’s hair.

“‘Balance must be restored to the universe,’” Stephen quoted the photo. “Sounds like something Thanos would say.”

“It does,” Wong said. “I have not told the other masters of this development. You are the Sorcerer Supreme. I called them here under the pretense of breaking the curse on Stark, but I wanted you to make this decision. Your history with Mordo is…deeper than most of ours.”

Stephen rested his cheek against Tony’s hair. “They need to know. All the practitioners need to know. They need to be on the alert. Do we know where he is?”

“No. He knows all the tracking spells we know, Stephen, just as he did before,” Wong said.

Stephen sighed, letting Tony down to the floor when the boy started wriggling. Stephen handed him a toy, something that lit up and made noise. Tony rolled it around the floor, chattering and laughing as the Cloak settled next to him.

Stephen leaned back in the chair, massaging his temples. He had hoped that Mordo had disappeared, or had realized after The Snap that his quest was foolish. No such luck.

“I should be here,” Stephen said.

“We can handle this, Stephen,” Wong said firmly. 

“I can’t let Tony distract me from my duties as Sorcerer Supreme,” Stephen snapped.

Tony looked up at him, eyes wide and lips quivering. Stephen sighed and pulled Tony into his arms. 

“I’m not mad at you,” Stephen whispered. Tony sniffed, pulling away stiffly. Stephen let out another sigh and let Tony back down. The boy turned his back on Stephen, pulling the Cloak over his head.

“What you are doing is necessary,” Wong said. “The world needs Tony Stark. You can do your duties from his penthouse well enough for the time being. We have what we need to start truly deciphering the curse, and the other masters are more than willing to pick up the slack. We will alert everyone about the renewed threat of Mordo, and make sure the Novices know as well.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said. It certainly seemed like everything just piled on him at once; Tony’s curse, Mordo’s return, dealing with the Avengers. He watched Tony roll around under the Cloak, cooing at the fabric.

“You have worked yourself near to death since Thanos,” Wong said gently. “Even you deserve a break from time to time.”

“Threats against the multiverse don’t take breaks,” Stephen said, smiling slightly as the Cloak lifted an edge. Tony peeked out from under the edge, grinning up at Stephen. He pounced on his tennis shoes, clinging to Stephen’s leg.

“Forgave me, did you?” Stephen asked, pulling the boy into his lap.

“Food?” Tony asked.

“Oh, so I’m just the grocery store, got it,” Stephen said, grabbing the half eaten bag of crackers and holding it out to Tony. Tony crammed them into his mouth, showering Stephen’s legs with crumbs. Stephen made sure he was steady on his lap and looked up to find Wong staring at him.

“What?”

“Nothing at all,” Wong said, his lips almost twitching in a smile.

They sat in an easy silence for a bit, listening to Tony crunch on crackers.

“You should ask your parolee if he’s heard any whispers of The Children of Thanos in his travels,” Wong said.

Stephen groaned. “He is not my parolee.”

“He basically is,” Wong said.

“I’ll ask him when I get the chance, but I don’t want him near Tony.”

“That is probably wise,” Wong said.

Stephen rolled his eyes. “Well, while I’m here I want to get some more books to take back to the penthouse.”

“Look in on the novices while you’re here. There are a few who have great potential.”

“I’ll do that first,” Stephen said, gathering Tony and all of his things. “Then I’ll grab the books before I head back to New York.”

“Try not to make portals in the library,” Wong said, putting away the photos he had shown Stephen. 

“Eh, needs must and all that,” Stephen said with a smirk, standing up. Tony kept shoving crackers in his mouth as Stephen turned and walked towards the door. 

“Bye bye!” Tony yelled at Wong.

Wong looked as surprised as he ever did. “Goodbye, Tony.”

Tony went back to his crackers happily, looking around as Stephen carried him back to the courtyard. He set Tony down on the cobblestones and the boy immediately started crawling around, exploring the place around him. Stephen watched for a moment, then glanced at the Cloak.

“Watch him. Don’t let him in the fountain,” he said sternly. The Cloak dipped its collar in a nod and floated over to the boy.

Stephen turned to watch the novices, studying them with more than his eyes. There were a few that showed great potential, although it seemed that no one had mastered the sling ring yet. He smiled wryly, remembering his own horrid attempts at it and the unplanned and very unwanted trip to the top of the world. 

He crossed his legs and sat on the ground, eyes slipping closed. He could feel the energy of the novices; nervous, pleased, angry, so many emotions roiling around the courtyard. He found he could feel Tony Stark as well; a bright spot, like a supernova. He opened his eyes and could see Tony’s aura. He wasn’t surprised to see that it was red and gold. The man knew himself.

“Master Strange, would you demonstrate for the class? They seem to think that only those who are perfect can do it,” Master Rivkah said with a smile.

Stephen rolled easily to his feet and walked to the front of the class. He was well aware of how shabby he looked in his Yankees hoodie and worn blue jeans. He could see derision in some of the novices’ eyes and he made a mental note to spend more time here. 

“That’s the Sorcerer Supreme?” one of the novices snickered. “Looks more like a dad taking his kid to a ball game.”

Stephen just smirked. “Name?”

“Me?”

“No, the spirit clinging to your back,” Stephen said.

The man’s eyes widened and he spun, trying to look at his back.

“Master Strange, we shouldn’t joke about spirits,” Rivkah said, fighting her own laughter. The young man stopped and glared at Stephen.

Stephen smiled rather wickedly. “I asked your name, novice.”

“Jake Buchanan,” he said stiffly.

“Well, Mr. Buchanan, show me what you’ve learned. Surely you must be better than me if you’re able to offer such riveting commentary.”

Buchanan stepped forward, feigning a kick. Stephen rolled his eyes, barely even dodging out of the way.

“I did mean magic, novice, not martial arts,” Stephen said.

“I haven’t learned any magic yet.”

“Oh, that’s sad,” Stephen said. He slammed his hands together, glowing mandalas exploding to life. He sent one spiraling straight at Buchanan, an eldritch whip appearing in his now free hand. Buchanan yelped and fell back, scrambling away from Stephen. 

Stephen stepped forward, the whip wrapping around Buchanan’s legs and yanking him close. The other novices scrambled back, watching with bated breath. 

“Come on, Buchanan, fight back,” Stephen said. He had to admit he was enjoying himself. It felt like it had been weeks instead of mere days since he had really gotten to stretch his legs magically, even if it was just terrorizing a novice who thought far too much of himself.

Buchanan scrambled to his feet, trying to put distance in between himself and Stephen. His eyes were wide and slightly panicked as they darted around the courtyard looking for help or an escape.

“Use your magic, Buchanan! You’ve been here for weeks! Come on!” Stephen bellowed, snapping the whip forward. Buchanan pushed his hands out and seemed shocked when a blast of energy pushed Stephen back.

Stephen grinned, sending the mandala and whip away. “Better.”

“I did that?” Buchanan said, voice filled with wonder.

Stephen looked around at the other novices. “Magic is intent, as well as practice. It took me quite some time to see that, to learn it.” He looked at Buchanan. “Don’t degrade others. You never know when they might kick your ass.”

“Yes, Master Strange,” Buchanan said, bowing slightly.

Stephen looked around again. “Just be glad I didn’t dump your ass on top of Everest.” 

Buchanan looked confused at that while Rivkah just laughed.

“As always, Master Strange, you have quite the way of teaching students.”

“Well, that’s why they don’t let me teach. Apparently I’m a dick,” Stephen said lightly. Some of the novices looked like they weren’t sure if they were allowed to laugh at that or not.

“Stephen!” Tony yelled, running to him. Stephen picked him up and rolled his eyes. 

“Where’s your jacket?” Stephen asked.

Tony patted Stephen’s cheeks, seemingly looking him over for injuries. “Were you worried about me?”

“Yeah,” Tony said quietly, hugging his neck.

“Buchanan couldn’t have touched me,” Stephen said, hugging the boy back. 

“Is he wearing a shirt with your face on it?” Rivkah asked as she let the novices break for water.

Stephen flushed slightly. “Yes. It’s the one he picked out today.”

Rivkah laughed. “You look pretty damn good as a cartoon, Doctor.”

“Thanks,” he said dryly.

He stood next to Rivkah and they discussed the novices quietly. He told her about the renewed threat from Mordo and she closed her eyes. She had trained with Mordo, and had been close to him.

“I had hoped to never hear his name again,” she said softly.

“As had I,” Stephen replied.

“Well, we will just have to be doubly prepared.”

She took a moment to look at Tony. “The curse is very robust. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“We will be able to break it though, right?” Stephen asked, a thread of worry in his voice.

“Of course,” Rivkah said, putting her hand on Stephen’s shoulder. “Any magic that can be made can be unmade. We just need to deconstruct each level of the curse to ensure no harm comes to him. We have enough to simulate the curse on a simulacrum of him so we can try different combinations without harming him.”

Stephen nodded. “That’s good. I don’t want any harm to befall Tony. He’s had enough happen to him in his life.”

“That he has,” Rivkah said gently. “And I can think of no one more suited to take care of him than you.”

Stephen wondered just how red his ears were at the praise. 

“Keep us informed if there is any change in him,” she said, smiling at him. “And we will all be on the lookout for those rogue elements.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said. “Good luck with the class.”

“They’re not so bad,” Rivkah said with a laugh. “You just have no patience for them.”

“This is true,” Stephen said honestly. He hiked Tony up on his hip and the boy pet Stephen’s hair. “Apparently the other masters don’t like it when I make the novices cry.”

Rivkah snorted. “Then you better leave before they see you with Tony. They’ll think you’re just a big pushover.”

Stephen laughed, gesturing to the Cloak. It picked up the diaper bag and landed on Stephen’s shoulders. “I need to go check out a few books and then I’ll be heading back to New York.”

“It is always good to see you, Master Strange,” Rivkah said. “You should come around sometime when there’s not some universe ending crisis.”

“I would be bored out of my mind,” Stephen called back as he walked back to the library, Rivkah’s laughter ringing in his ears.

He kept a hold of Tony in the library, unwilling to let the boy wander. He didn’t want him to touch something and have something horrid happen to him. He would never forgive himself if a book ate Tony Stark. It would be a rather inglorious end. 

Stephen selected a few books on tracking, mostly ancient Egyptian and Greek. They were ones he hadn’t studied particularly closely. He put the books in the diaper bag, rearranging everything to make sure it fit, and then stood back up.

“Ready to go?” he asked Tony.

“Yeah!” Tony said happily.

“Okay, let’s get moving,” Stephen said. He quickly opened a portal back to the penthouse, stepping through and closing it behind him. He set Tony down and the boy ran to his race track, pushing his oversized cars around the track.

“Kamar-Taj is beautiful,” FRIDAY said.

“You were quiet during the trip,” Stephen said, setting everything down. 

“It’s not my place to interject there, although the readings when you were sparring with that novice were fascinating.”

“That wasn’t sparring,” Stephen said with a smirk. “That was just proving a point. If you want data on sparring I’ll meet up with Wanda sometime.”

“Ms. Maximoff certainly seems more level headed since her two years study,” FRIDAY said.

“I’ll tell you about it sometime,” Stephen said. He lifted his hands and began making gestures, runes appearing in golden light before disappearing. Tony lifted his head and watched in open mouthed awe.

“What are you doing?” FRIDAY asked. The readings were off the chart.

“Warding this place against other magic users,” Stephen said. “Only I will be able to pass the wards uninvited. Anyone else will find themselves on Mount Everest.”

“That seems…extreme?” FRIDAY said, slightly unsure.

“Not really. Any magic user worth their weight would be able to get off the mountain. I want to make sure Tony has a safe place here. Of course, this won’t keep out normal people, although if I had more time I could make it so anyone with threatening intentions would be booted out but that’s a lot of work. Once he’s back to normal, I’ll change the wards so even I can’t through without an invitation.”

“That’s actually really…sweet,” FRIDAY said.

“Tony isn’t a fan of magic, I know. I’m just hoping when this blows over that he’ll at least see the wisdom in having this place warded. If not, I will remove them,” Stephen said, finishing the wards. The walls glowed once and returned to normal. “Are the wards interfering with your sensors?”

“Not anymore,” FRIDAY said. “There was a surge of energy when you finished, but everything’s leveled out now. I can get readings through it, and it only appears as a slight power increase. It’s quite fascinating.”

“I’ll wear the glasses while I read the books if you want,” Stephen said. “Granted, they’re in ancient and dead languages, but I can translate.”

“Really?” FRIDAY said hopefully. “That would be wonderful. I am made to keep learning, and this is one of the more esoteric things I’ve had the opportunity to learn.”

“I’m sure Tony will be delighted to tear magic apart and try to give scientific explanations for it. I’ve tried.”

“The boss will delight in it. It could be a welcome back to adulting gift for him.”

Stephen snorted, sitting cross legged next to Tony. “Be honest, FRIDAY. Has he ever really ‘adulted’?”

FRIDAY’s musical laughter echoed around the room, making Tony squeal with laughter of his own.

“On rare occasions. I believe Ms. Potts has a file of the number of times Tony has acted his age saved on her phone.”

Stephen grinned, pushing the second car around the track. Tony clapped delightedly, his own car forgotten as he watched Stephen push the second around.

Tony crawled into Stephen’s lap, taking over pushing the car and making what Stephen assumed was car noises.

“I’ll have you know if a car sounded like that it probably needs to go straight to a mechanic, or the big junkyard in the sky,” Stephen said dryly. Tony just made the noises even louder.

“Ms. Potts has sent a message, just wants to confirm everything is okay.”

“Can you reply for me? Texting takes a long time with these hands,” he said, holding his trembling hands out.

“Of course, Doc.”

“Tell her that everything is fine. Tony and I are going to stay in this afternoon and just relax. I think we’ll have pasta for dinner.”

“Sent,” FRIDAY said. “You’re not going to tell her about this Mordo character? Shouldn’t you at least tell Carol Danvers?”

Stephen rested his chin on Tony’s head. Technically, part of his agreement with the Avengers was that he informed them of magical threats that could threaten reality. Tony was his usual point of contact for it, but clearly a toddler wouldn’t be able to do much with the information.

He let out a sigh. “Can you patch me through to Carol?”

“Connecting the call.”

“Doctor Strange,” Carol’s voice said. “What can I do for you? Is Tony okay?”

“Tony is fine,” Stephen said. “However, I have been recently made aware of a threat. This person targets only magic users, so it shouldn’t affect the Avengers. I will make sure Wanda is informed on it, although I doubt she’d be targeted as her magic comes from a different source from the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj.”

“Is there anything we can do to help you find this person?” Carol asked briskly.

“I don’t believe so,” Stephen said. “But I wanted to make sure you were informed.”

“Thank you,” Carol said. “Keep me updated, Doctor.” She hung up.

Obligation done, Stephen flopped back on the floor, Tony laughing as he fell across Stephen’s chest. Stephen smiled, lifting Tony and blowing a raspberry against his stomach. Tony screeched and laughed, kicking little legs in protest.

“How does a movie and just relaxing the rest of the day sound?” Stephen asked, sitting Tony on his chest.

“Kay,” Tony said, banging his hands against Stephen’s sternum.

“Hmmm…FRIDAY, how about we watch _Cinderella_?” Stephen said.

“Comin’ right up,” FRIDAY said. “Disney fan, huh?”

“I spent a lot of nights studying with Disney movies playing in the background,” Stephen said.

Tony curled up on Stephen’s chest, eyes glued to the large TV. Stephen rubbed his back gently, smiling slightly as the Cloak worked Tony’s shoes off.

He knew Mordo was out there, and that there were things he really should be doing as Sorcerer Supreme, but he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather be doing than laying on the floor watching Disney movies with a two year old Tony Stark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are love.
> 
> non existent bonus points if you can guess who Stephen's parolee is XD


	10. Bucky Barnes is great and Steve is just confused, plus ice cream and a cliffhanger.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen and Tony spend more time at the park, meet up with Steve and Bucky, eat more ice cream, talk briefly to Peter, and not much happens to forward the plot that came up last time. on purpose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey all. thanks again for the great comments and love for this story. Especially since a surprise plot was added (seriously, it wasn't supposed to have a plot). Not much happens to forward the plot in this chapter, I mostly wanted more soft interactions since we didn't get much of that last chapter.
> 
> Also, check out [this](https://www.instagram.com/p/BmiEdv6F9W2/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=gn420md5g6we) art by [HappyFabulousManatee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyFabulousManatee/pseuds/HappyFabulousManatee) that is literally Stephen during the meeting with the Avengers.
> 
> hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Thanks to the Ironstrange discord sprints for getting me off my ass.
> 
> not beta-ed

Stephen lay sprawled on the grass, Tony rolling around next to him. His eyes were closed, but he was constantly aware of where Tony was. In the past day, he had come to realize he could feel Tony’s aura. It certainly helped, considering the constant thread of worry Stephen felt for the boy. 

They had spent the day before watching Disney movies and just relaxing after returning from Kamar-Taj. He had made pasta for dinner and Tony had made quite the mess of himself. Stephen had managed to finish the first chapter of the book before Tony had fallen asleep, and he had been pleasantly surprised when Tony had only woken up twice during the night.

In the morning, Stephen had done his yoga, only to be interrupted by Tony once again. They ate breakfast and went out. Stephen was on high alert, but he didn’t feel like it was fair to keep Tony cooped up inside just because Mordo was out there.

He told himself Tony wouldn’t be a target to Mordo; the boy had no magic, and if Stephen had anything to say about it, Mordo would never find out the boy’s real identity. He knew that if Mordo found out, he’d use Tony to get to him, to destroy him. They went to the park again, Tony playing happily in the playground. Stephen was surprised at how easily the other parents accepted him. They never questioned him about Tony. They simply assumed he was a single father taking his kid to the park.

It was kind of nice, if Stephen was being perfectly honest with himself. He had enough to worry about that just being welcomed to the playground with a friendly nod and a smile for Tony was nice. 

When Tony had gotten bored with the playground equipment, Stephen had carried him back to the tree that they had eaten lunch under the day of the Avengers meeting. Stephen lounged while Tony played in the grass.

It was nice to just sit and relax, even if his magic was constantly reaching out for threats and FRIDAY was scanning as well.

Tony faceplanted onto Stephen’s chest, crawling on him and babbling quietly in Stephen’s ear. Stephen opened his eyes, arching his eyebrow at the two men standing nearby, fidgeting as they watched him and Tony.

“You two just going to stand there awkwardly or are you going to say something?” Stephen asked, sitting up with Tony in his embrace.

“Hey, Doctor Strange,” Bucky Barnes said, smiling wryly at Tony. Tony ducked his head, hiding in Stephen’s neck.

“Can we join you?” Steve Rogers asked.

“Do you have the shield?” Stephen said.

“No,” Steve said. “I left that at the compound. I don’t usually take it everywhere with me.”

Stephen arched his eyebrow but nodded. “Then yes, pull up some grass.”

Steve went to sit down and let out a startled yell when the scarf that was hanging limp around Stephen’s neck suddenly went rigid and flew at Steve, wrapping around his face and shoving him to the ground.

Steve let out a yell, grabbing the scarf and rolling on the ground.

“Let him up!” Stephen said, trying not to laugh. The scarf sagged, almost looking hopefully at Stephen. “He didn’t bring the shield. Give him a chance. For now.”

Bucky grinned as the scarf sulkily unfolded from Steve’s face and dropped back over Stephen’s shoulder.

“So, the Cloak can change its appearance,” Steve said, coughing.

“Did I never mention that?” Stephen asked dryly.

Bucky folded his legs and sat crosslegged next to Stephen. Tony peeked out around Stephen’s neck at him, frowning slightly at Steve before hiding again.

“If Tony panics you’re both gone, though,” Stephen said.

“Of course,” Steve said, sitting next to Bucky. “I do apologize about that. It was foolish of me to bring that to the meeting.”

“Yes, it was,” Stephen said. “Do you usually need it for Avengers meetings?”

Steve ducked his head. “No. Stark…Tony…confuses me. He never calls a meeting so I wasn’t sure if I was going to need it.”

“Not really interested in excuses,” Stephen said bluntly. “And I’m not the one you need to apologize to, although I doubt Tony would understand right now.”

Tony looked up at his name, smiling slightly at Stephen. Stephen brushed a kiss over his forehead, aware of Bucky and Steve’s eyes on him. Tony turned in Stephen’s lap, staring at the two men. His eyes kept darting between Bucky and Steve, drawn back to the metal of Bucky’s arm.

He pointed at Bucky’s arm, making an inquisitive noise and reaching for it.

Stephen grabbed Tony’s hand before he could grasp Bucky’s arm. “We have to ask first,” Stephen said.

Tony looked at Stephen with wide brown eyes, finally looking at Bucky and babbling at him, gesturing to the arm.

“Sure thing, kid,” Bucky said, holding his arm out. Tony tumbled off Stephen’s lap and crawled to Bucky, touching the metal arm with both hands. He laughed, banging his fists against it. He grasped Bucky’s fingers, twisting them in his hand. He moved Bucky’s hand around, finally leaning forward and pressing his lips against the arm, tasting it.

“Oh, Tony, we don’t lick people,” Stephen said. Bucky snickered, ruffling Tony’s hair with his flesh and blood hand. Tony sat back, making a face and rubbing at his lips in disgust.

“Doesn’t taste good, does it, kid?” Bucky asked. “I’ll have to talk to Shuri about that. Maybe she can make the next one out of chocolate.”

“Wouldn’t that melt?” Steve asked, watching Tony start to crawl all over Bucky, standing on his thighs and tugging at Bucky’s long hair.

“Not if Tony and I ate it first,” Bucky said seriously, holding Tony steady.

“Well, that would be quite fascinating to see,” Stephen said dryly, keeping his eye on Tony. The boy seemed happy enough, and Bucky didn’t seem to mind the hands in his hair or the grubby little handprints all over his arm.

Tony dropped to Bucky’s lap, banging his hands against Bucky’s arm again. He squealed with delight, dragging his fingers from Bucky’s shoulder to the metal of the arm.

Steve watched Tony and wasn’t sure how to feel. His relationship with Tony Stark was still tenuous at best, not that he blamed Tony. He had nearly killed him in Siberia, hadn’t believed him about the incoming threat, and honestly hadn’t believed that his plan to defeat Thanos would work, but it had. At Carol Danvers’ behest they had been attending therapy together for a year, and it mostly seemed to be helping although he was beyond glad that the records of the sessions would never be released.

He and Tony said some terrible things to each other in those early sessions. Steve didn’t like to think about it, if he was honest with himself. It hurt. He knew Tony would never trust him completely again, and he couldn’t entirely blame him. He went to private therapy sessions too, which he realized he should’ve done from the moment he had come out of the ice.

Bucky’s relationship with Tony still confused him, but he didn’t begrudge Bucky’s friendship with Stark, even if it made him miss the early days of the Avengers. He had been jealous of Bucky at first, and tried to keep him away from Stark, until Bucky had punched him in the face and told him to get over it.

Steve shook his head, bringing his thoughts back to the boy in Bucky’s lap. It was hard for him to reconcile the Tony Stark he knew with the toddler before him. He sighed, scratching his beard.

Tony looked up at him suspiciously, eyes narrow. He pulled Bucky’s arm around him, putting it between him and Steve.

“He’s never going to trust me, is he?” Steve said, voice a little sad.

“Nope,” Bucky said. “Especially if you shave again like you were talking about last night, punk.”

“You shave you won’t come anywhere near him,” Stephen said swiftly. Bucky held Tony lightly, watching Steve.

“Stevie, you can’t change the past. This guy could, apparently,” Bucky said, nodding to Stephen, “but the stones are gone. If I learned anything from all the sh—poop that’s happened to me is that you can’t wallow, Steve. Wallowing means never moving forward, moving on, never healing. It took me a long time to get there, and Tony helped a lot. He’s the one that offered to find me a therapist after the BARF treatments were done.”

“That’s a horrible name,” Stephen muttered. Bucky flashed a smile at him.

“It really is, but between that and Shuri, I was set free. You’re living in the past, Steve. Even after all this time.”

Steve sighed, flopping back on the grass and staring at the clouds. “You’re right, Buck. It’s just hard.”

“Moving on can be,” Stephen said, smiling as Tony crawled out from under Bucky’s arm and onto Stephen’s lap. “Letting go of the person we used to be is difficult, becoming the person we were meant to be is never easy.”

“You speak from experience,” Bucky said. 

“Yes,” Stephen replied. 

Steve sat up, elbows propped on his knees. “We didn’t join you for an impromptu therapy session, Doctor Strange, I’m sorry.”

“Not that kind of doctor anyway,” Stephen said with a shrug.

Tony watched Steve intently, fingers curled around Stephen’s pinkie. 

“You can try to talk to him, you know,” Bucky said, nudging Steve. Steve sat up straight, looking at the boy. He cleared his throat.

“Uh…hello, Tony, my name is Steve,” Steve said, holding his hand out to Tony.

Tony stared at him, a really confused look on his face. Bucky covered his mouth to stifle his laughter.

“No,” Tony said.

“No?” Steve asked.

“Stephen,” Tony said, pointing at Stephen. “No,” he said, pointing at Steve.

“Hey there, No, nice to meetcha,” Bucky said, snickering.

“Shut up, Buck,” Steve said.

“Shut up!” Tony said gleefully.

“Tony, no,” Stephen said, dropping his head.

“No!” Tony said, pointing at Steve.

“He has a name,” Stephen said.

“No!” Tony said again, grinning widely. 

“You can’t call him no,” Stephen said.

“Can,” Tony said, crossing his arms.

“Can’t,” Stephen said, tickling Tony’s tummy. Tony squealed with laughter, kicking and batting at Stephen’s arms.

Bucky leaned close to Tony. Tony grinned at him, reaching for Bucky’s hair.

“Hey, kid, why don’t you call old ‘no’ over there ‘punk’ instead?” Bucky said.

“Punk?” Tony said, looking from Bucky to Steve. Steve groaned, a smile twitching at his lips.

“I used to call him Punk all the time,” Bucky said. “Granted, he was a lot smaller back then. Real scrawny punk of a guy, all fight, but no bite.”

“Punk,” Tony said, staring at Steve. “Punk, punk, punk.”

“Thank you for teaching him that word, Barnes,” Stephen said dryly. Bucky grinned, leaning back on his arms.

“You’re quite welcome, Doctor.”

Tony laughed, crawling out of Stephen’s lap. He sat on the grass between the three men, pulling blades of grass out and flinging them everywhere. 

Stephen watched him, glad that Tony didn’t seem to be afraid of Steve. If he showed any signs of fear of the man, Stephen would boot Rogers to another dimension with no thought. Tony kept glancing between the three men as they talked. They kept their conversation safe; past missions they had all worked on, Bucky and Steve asked questions about magic, Stephen asked questions about America in the forties and the war.

Tony reached out a tentative hand and brushed his fingers against Steve’s arm. Steve went absolutely still, staring down at the boy. Tony pressed his fingers more firmly against Steve’s arm then darted back to Stephen’s arms, hiding his face against Stephen’s neck.

“You’re okay,” Stephen whispered into Tony’s hair. He rubbed Tony’s back, rocking back and forth. Tony chattered in his ear, not looking at the other two.

Bucky smiled wryly. “Well, I don’t think you’re going to get better than that, punk.”

“Punk?” Tony asked, lifting his head from Stephen’s shoulder.

“Yeah, he’s such a punk, right?” Bucky said, grinning at Steve.

Steve rolled his eyes. 

“I’m surprised he touched me, period,” Steve said honestly. “I’ll take what I can get.”

“Smart move,” Stephen replied.

“Switching topics, Carol told us something about a magical threat?” Steve asked, taking a drink of his water.

“Yes,” Stephen said slowly. “A…rogue element, if you will. He targets magic users, so there should be no threat to you or yours.”

“What about Wanda?” Bucky asked, smiling slightly as Tony rolled from Stephen’s lap to the grass. 

“I sent Wanda a message last night. She shouldn’t be a target, as her magic comes from a different source than ours, but she is aware of the potential.”

“Good,” Steve said.

Tony walked over to his Spider-Man plush and hugged it, plopping down on his butt between Bucky and Stephen. Bucky ruffled his hair again, grinning at Tony’s dismayed squawk. 

“What did you teach Wanda?” Steve asked.

Stephen arched his eyebrow. “Why? I can’t see you opening yourself to the mystic arts.”

“No,” Steve said, shaking his head. “She seems much more…in control than she was previously. I was just curious. I feel responsible for her.”

“First, she’s an adult,” Stephen said. “You aren’t responsible for her. Second, I’m not going to divulge what training we went through without her permission. Yes, she has more control because I demanded it of her. If you ask the students, I’m a dick of a teacher.”

“I bet,” Bucky said with a grin.

Steve sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to get anything else from Stephen Strange. Tony yawned into Spider-Man’s head, slumping sideways and curling up against Stephen’s thigh. Stephen rubbed his back gently, looking down at the boy with a smile.

“I do believe that’s my cue to take him back to the penthouse,” Stephen said, gathering the diaper bag and the activities Tony had scattered around. Bucky helped him, shoving stuff in the diaper bag.

Stephen stood and dusted off his butt. Bucky scooped Tony into his arms, the boy smiling tiredly at him.

“We’ll see you around, kid,” Bucky said, watching as Stephen opened a portal. He handed Tony back to Stephen as the Cloak took the weight of the diaper bag.

“Bye bye,” Tony said, dropping his head onto Stephen’s shoulder.

“Bye, Tony,” Steve said. Tony blinked at him.

“Punk,” Tony said firmly. Bucky snickered, hanging onto Steve’s shoulder as the blond man shook his head.

“Goodbye, Barnes, Rogers,” Stephen said.

“See ya, Doc,” Bucky said. “I’ll call Shuri about that chocolate arm!” he yelled as the portal started to close.

“You’re really going to get a chocolate arm, aren’t you?” Steve asked wryly as they started walking.

“You know it, punk,” Bucky said, punching his shoulder and taking off in a sprint.

:::

Stephen put Tony on the couch and covered him with a light blanket after the Cloak pulled off the boy’s shoes. Stephen cleaned out the diaper bag, rearranging it for the next day.

He toed his own shoes off and grabbed the books he’d taken the day before from Kamar-Taj. He sat crosslegged in the middle of the floor and pulled the first one to him. He snatched his glasses and put them on.

“FRIDAY, you up?”

“Always, Doc.”

“What did you think of running into Barnes and Rogers?”

“I’m glad Rogers wasn’t carrying the shield.”

“I wouldn’t have let him anywhere near us if he did.”

“I have no doubt.”

Stephen was silent for a moment. “It surprises me that Tony seems to trust Barnes.”

“Sergeant Barnes never lied to Tony,” FRIDAY said softly. “Captain America did, for years. I do not feel comfortable telling you more than that without Mr. Stark’s permission.”

“I wouldn’t want you to, I understand. Truth is important.”

“Yes,” FRIDAY said. 

Stephen looked down at the book in his lap, opening it. “This is a book on Ancient Egyptian tracking spells.”

He started translating as he went, asking FRIDAY to take notes for him as he went. FRIDAY sometimes interjected with questions, about magical theory or Egypt. She offered some insight on Egypt that she found in her vast stores of knowledge. 

Normally, Stephen preferred to study like this in private, but he found bouncing ideas and thoughts off FRIDAY easy. On the one hand, it made him realize just how alone he was most of the time. It seemed ever since he became Sorcerer Supreme he was even more alone.

He didn’t want to think about what would happen once Tony was back to normal.

He continued to look through the book, looking for anything that could assist in tracking down Mordo.

A couple hours later, Stephen felt little hands on his back. He closed the book and sent it into a pocket dimension. Stephen turned his head slightly, looking at Tony’s little hand on his shoulder. Stephen dropped his head, playfully grabbing Tony’s hand with his teeth.

Tony squealed, laughing. Stephen grabbed Tony and lay back, the boy grinning at him from his spot on Stephen’s chest.

“Hey there, Tony,” Stephen said, brushing a strand of Tony’s hair back.

“Punk,” Tony said.

“You better not even be comparing me to him,” Stephen said with a gasp. He flicked Tony’s nose and the boy laughed.

“Stephen!” Tony cried, throwing himself into Stephen’s arms. Stephen hugged him tightly and got to his feet.

“What shall we do for the rest of the day?”

“Scream?” Tony said, playing with Stephen’s hair.

“You want to scream?” Stephen asked, confused.

“I scream?” Tony said again.

“Ice cream?” FRIDAY said.

“Yeah!” Tony said with a laugh.

“Oh, I see. You want ice cream,” Stephen said, kissing Tony’s forehead. Tony cuddled close to him, happy with the affection.

“Well, I’m pretty sure Happy and Pepper had some Stark Raving Hazelnuts delivered here, or we can go out again,” Stephen said, carrying Tony to the kitchen. He opened the freezer, smiling at the ice cream.

“Well, looks like we have Stark Raving Hazelnuts and a few other flavors, or would you rather go to the ice cream shop again?”

“Out,” Tony said, pushing the freezer door shut.

“Okay, let’s get your shoes back on and go get some ice cream.” Stephen took Tony back to the living room and sat him on the couch, putting his Velcro tennis shoes back on. Stephen used magic to get his own back on and grabbed the diaper bag after he opened a portal.

“Let’s go, kiddo,” Stephen said, lifting Tony into his arms. Tony smacked a kiss against his cheek as they stepped through into the alley. Stephen smiled at him as he let the portal collapse.

“I scream, I scream,” Tony said, clapping his hand against Stephen’s shoulder as they walked in.

“Hey, Doctor Strange,” Codi said. “Your usual, two scoops again?”

“You know me so well,” Stephen said, adjusting Tony to pay.

“Not used to seeing you twice in one week,” Codi said, passing him a cup with two scoops of Stark Raving Hazelnuts.

“Not used to having the money for it,” Stephen said with an easy shrug. “Consulting for Stark Industries certainly has it’s perks.”

“I bet,” Codi laughed, handing him back the credit card. Stephen thanked her and slipped the card into his pocket, carrying Tony outside again.

Stephen sat down at a shaded table and put Tony in his lap, stabbing the spoon into the ice cream. Stephen took a bite, smiling at Tony trying to intercept the spoon.

“Calm down, here,” Stephen said, taking another spoonful and offering it to Tony. Tony took a happy bite, leaning his head back against Stephen’s chest.

Stephen smiled down at him and traded off bites with the toddler, one hand loosely around Tony’s stomach. 

“Oh, Stark Raving Hazelnuts!”

Tony looked up at the voice, grinning widely. “Pe’er!”

“Hey, Mr. Stark!” Peter said, dropping into the chair across from them. “Hi, Doctor Strange.”

“Hello, Peter. School just get out?” Stephen asked, taking another bite.

“Yup,” Peter said. “And you’ll be glad to know I passed that physics test with flying colors.”

“I’m absolutely thrilled for you,” Stephen started. “Tony, get your fingers out of the ice cream you little monster.”

“Monster!” Tony said.

“Yes, you’re a monster,” Stephen said, dropping a kiss onto Tony’s head. “I want to eat more ice cream, not have you paint your face with it.”

Peter snickered, pulling his phone out and taking a picture of the two of them. Stephen rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his ice cream. 

“Anything exciting happen today?” Peter asked, bouncing in chair.

“We had a talk with Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes,” Stephen said.

“Was Mr. Stark okay?” Peter asked. Tony gave him a weird look, grabbing for Stephen’s spoon.

“He was fine. Rogers didn’t have the shield, and if he had I would’ve booted him to another dimension in a heartbeat.”

“That’s good,” Peter said, watching Tony attempt to feed himself. The massive spoonful of ice creams slipped off the spoon and landed with a splat on Stephen’s thigh.

“Thank you, Tony,” Stephen said, grabbing a wad of napkins and wiping his pants. Tony looked sadly at the dropped ice cream.

“Sad,” Tony said, his lip quivering.

“Oh, it’s just ice cream,” Stephen said, offering Tony another bite. Tony sighed, taking the bite and licking his lips.

“Tony now calls Rogers ‘punk’ so that’s amusing,” Stephen said. Peter laughed, looking around at the people walking around them.

Stephen took one last bite and let Tony finish the ice cream. He relaxed in the chair, Tony a warm and solid weight against his legs and stomach. 

“I better get going,” Peter said. 

“Go, be your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” Stephen said. “Tony, say goodbye to Peter.”

“Bye, Pe’er!” Tony said, waving at him.

“Bye, Mr. Stark!” 

Stephen rolled his eyes. “You’re never going to call him Tony, are you?”

“Nope. Can’t do it.” Peter stood up, swinging his backpack onto his back. “See ya, Doctor Strange! I’ll see you later!”

“Goodbye, Peter,” Stephen said. Tony waved excitedly, grinning widely as Peter bounded away.

Stephen dug into the diaper bag and pulled out a pack of wet wipes, wiping Tony’s hands and face down much to the boy’s disgust.

“I’m not going to let you put your sticky little fingers in my hair, thank you very much,” Stephen said, tossing the soiled wipe into the empty ice cream cup. Tony babbled at him as Stephen gathered all their trash and threw it away. Stephen swung Tony up onto his shoulders, the boy screeching with delight as his legs came down on either side of Stephen’s neck. Tony grabbed Stephen’s hair, his feet kicking against Stephen’s collarbones.

“Ouch, don’t pull,” Stephen said, hooking the diaper bag over his arm. He grabbed Tony’s thigh with one hand, making sure the boy wouldn’t fall off his shoulders. The Cloak, still disguised as a scarf, wrapped itself around Tony’s legs. “Thank you,” Stephen whispered to the Cloak. He felt it squeeze him affectionately.

Tony laughed, looking around from his perch on Stephen’s shoulders.

“It’s nice being tall, isn’t it?” Stephen said with a grin. Tony blew a raspberry at him, fingers tangled in Stephen’s hair.

Stephen walked slowly down the streets, people rushing by them on their way to wherever they were going. Tony chattered at him, feet banging against Stephen as they walked. Stephen replied to him, not that he had any idea what Tony was saying to him. 

As the sun sank lower in the sky, Stephen ducked into an alley, opening a portal back to the penthouse. He bent over and dropped Tony into the circle of his arms.

“Ready to go?” Stephen asked.

Tony cooed at him, hugging him around the neck. “Home?”

“Yeah, let’s go home,” Stephen said. He stepped through, closing it behind them. He set Tony on the ground once they were through, stretching his back with a groan.

“You are a heavy little monster,” Stephen said. Tony smiled at him, walking over to the couch and crawling on it.

“Pony?” he asked.

“You heard the boss, FRIDAY,” Stephen said. “ _My Little Pony_ time.”

“On it,” FRIDAY said, the large TV turning on and the show picking up where it left off. Tony clapped, grinning widely.

“What do we say, Tony?” Stephen asked.

“Thanks!” Tony said.

“You’re welcome,” FRIDAY said.

Stephen just decided to reheat yesterday’s pasta for dinner, but he could do that later. He sat on the couch next to Tony, smiling as the boy crawled into his lap. Tony cuddled happily against him, fingers playing with the hem of Stephen’s shirt as Pinkie Pie held a party.

Stephen dropped a feather soft kiss onto Tony’s head.

It was a quiet night, and Stephen was thankful for it.

:::

Stephen was surprised at how quickly his life fell into a routine with Tony. Wake up, daily yoga interrupted by one toddler Tony Stark, breakfast, hours at the park, lunch, ice cream, nap time. Kamar-Taj was no closer to breaking Tony’s curse. Every time they tried on the simulacrum caused the instant death of the double.

Stephen was worried, but he tried not to let it show. Tony had been a toddler for five days, and Stephen’s life revolved around him. 

It was late afternoon on that fifth day. Tony slept on the couch, head pillowed on his plush Spider-Man. Stephen read more books, looking for anything they could use to track Mordo.

“Uh, Doc, we may have a problem,” FRIDAY said.

“What is it?” Stephen asked, closing the book and sending it away.

“Well…Thor and the Guardians just showed up at the compound. They’re asking to see the boss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> looking forward to the next chapter, not gonna lie.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are love!


	11. What Kind of Probation Officer Doesn't Carry Handcuffs?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen takes Tony to meet Thor and Guardians, takes a brief trip across the galaxy to talk to his parolee, and Rocket and Tony blow a hole in the wall. Basically, an average day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I am so sorry this took so bloody long. I got distracted by Kinktober (and it was difficult for me to switch from 'Tony is kinky AF' to 'Tony is a toddler and must be protected'. I couldn't do it.) Then I absolutely HAD to work on my grad school application, and that was difficult, but I officially applied for grad school yesterday so it is completely out of my hands. I can now focus more on my WIPs, mainly this one. So, I apologize for leaving you all hanging so long. I never meant for the gap between chapters to be this long. 
> 
> This chapter felt a little rough to me, but it's been a long time and I had to get back into the groove of things.
> 
> not beta-ed

Stephen managed to wrangle Tony into his shoes after a small temper tantrum and a Spider-Man plush thrown at his head. Stephen wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. It seemed that Tony had gotten used to their routine and didn’t like the fact that Stephen was deviating from it.

“We’re going to the compound,” Stephen said, packing snacks and apple juice in the diaper bag. Tony sat moodily at his feet, cheeks still red from his shouting. “You’ll be able to see Pepper and Rhodey, and probably the others. Rogers better not have that damn shield,” he added as an afterthought. 

He ran his fingers through his hair. If the Guardians were with Thor, he wanted to talk to Nebula and Gamora about the photos Wong had shown him. He quickly made a portal to Wong’s office at Kamar-Taj.

“What do you want?” Wong asked, not lifting his head.

“The Guardians are at the Compound. I want to show Nebula and Gamora the photos.”

“Wise, since they were the daughters of Thanos,” Wong said.

“I occasionally have a good idea,” Stephen said dryly, taking the packet of photos from Wong. “Any update?”

“We still haven’t broke the curse and Mordo still hasn’t shown up,” Wong said. “I would tell you if we had any breakthrough on either front. Now leave me alone. And you might want to look in a mirror before you leave.”

“He’s so friendly,” Stephen said to Tony as the portal collapsed. He glanced at himself in the reflection of the window. His hair stuck up in unruly waves, there was drool on his shirt, and he looked tired. He shook his head slightly; he looked like a single man in his forties wrangling a two year old. He used magic to smooth his hair. He couldn’t do anything about the drool.

He shouldered the bag and bent over, scooping Tony into his arms. Tony grumbled at him, lower lip jutting out in a pout.

“Don’t give me that,” Stephen said. “A bird’s going to land on it and poop in your mouth.”

“That’s disgusting,” FRIDAY said. “Give me an example of that actually happening.”

“Look, it’s something my mother used to say to me and my sister when we would pout. Of course it doesn’t make any sense.”

Tony tugged on Stephen’s hair, annoyed at being ignored. 

“Ouch, don’t,” Stephen said, twisting his head until Tony let go. Tony glared at him and Stephen sighed.

“I don’t know what you want me to do, Tony,” Stephen said softly. He moved to the couch and sat down. Thor and the Guardians could wait a few minutes. He dropped the diaper bag at his feet and held Tony loosely against his chest.

Tony sniffed, arms around Stephen’s neck. Stephen rubbed Tony’s back gently, pressing a soft kiss against his forehead.

“What’s wrong, Tony?” Stephen whispered. Tony had been sleeping okay and eating everything Stephen made.

“Don’t wanna go,” Tony said.

“Why not? Pepper and Rhodey will be there. And Bucky, you liked him. You’ll like Thor.”

“Stay home,” Tony said.

Stephen ignored the way his heart tightened. This couldn’t become home to him. As soon as Tony was an adult again, he would go back to the Sanctum (and its tiny bathtub).

“We have to go, Tony. I need to talk to Thor, and Nebula and Gamora. How about this. After I talk to them, we’ll go get dinner somewhere. Maybe invite Pepper and Rhodey.”

Tony seemed to think about it for a bit, finally nodding. 

“Okay,” Tony said. Stephen smiled slightly and stood up, Tony in his arms. Tony tangled his fingers in the hair at the nape of Stephen’s neck, looking around as Stephen picked up the diaper bag and opened a portal.

“Spider-Man!” Tony yelled in Stephen’s ear just as he was about to step through.

“Right, can’t forget Spider-man,” Stephen said, turning and quickly grabbing the well-loved plush. He handed it to Tony and they stepped through the portal to the compound.

“FRIDAY, where are they?” Stephen asked, letting the portal collapse behind him. He had gone into one of the bathrooms at the compound, not wanting to appear in the middle of a group of trigger happy Guardians.

“They’re in the lab. Thor is demanding to see Mr. Stark, Rocket is trying to look up my skirt, and Quill is raiding the fridge.”

“He probably shouldn’t do that,” Stephen muttered, remembering the thing growing in the bottom of Tony’s fridge. He adjusted his grip on Tony and walked down the hall. The Cloak settled on his shoulders, his sorcerer garb appearing as he walked.

Tony grabbed the collar of the Cloak, cooing at it as it wrapped around his little fist. Stephen stood outside the lab, taking a moment to look in.

Groot leaned against a wall, apparently having an in depth conversation with DUM-E. Nebula looked at some half built machines that Stephen couldn’t begin to guess what their purpose was. Gamora walked the edges of the lab, looking over everything. Stephen could just make out Quill’s ass as he looked in the fridge, and Drax and Mantis were moving closer to DUM-E. Thor paced in the middle of the lab, Stormbreaker slung across his back. Stephen couldn’t see Rocket and that was worrying.

Stephen sighed and had FRIDAY open the door. Thor spun as the door slid open, a frown crossing his face as he saw Stephen.

“Beer wizard,” Thor said. “I need to speak to Tony Stark. It is—I didn’t know you had a son. Have we really been away that long?”

Thor stepped closer, smiling at the boy in Stephen’s arms. “Hello, little warrior.”

Tony looked up at him with huge eyes. He looked at Stephen then back at Thor. He reached out for the god of thunder. Thor glanced at Stephen and the sorcerer nodded, relinquishing the boy to Thor.

“Big,” Tony said, looking back at Stephen from Thor’s arms. Stephen had to admit that Tony looked rather small in Thor’s embrace.

“Yes, he is very big, isn’t he?” Stephen said, dropping the diaper bag to his feet and stretching until his back popped. 

“What is his name?” Thor asked, swinging the boy lightly in his arms. Tony grinned, laughing. Thor smiled down at him, bouncing him into the air and making him screech.

Stephen opened his mouth to answer, aware of the eyes of the Guardians on them, when Rocket ran up Thor’s back and perched on his shoulder.

Tony’s eyes nearly bugged out of his skull when he saw the raccoon sitting on Thor’s shoulder. Rocket tilted his head, yanking his tail out of Tony’s reach.

“Wasn’t he taller last time we were here?” Rocket asked. “And, ya know, old?”

“What do mean, rabbit?”

“Yes,” Stephen interrupted. “He was taller and older. Thor, that’s Tony.”

Thor looked at the grinning toddler in his arms. The eyes were familiar.

“Tony?” Thor asked, holding the boy out in front of him.

“Yeah!” Tony yelled, legs kicking. Rocket flattened his ears to his skull.

“He was quieter too,” Rocket grumbled. Tony reached for Rocket as Thor brought him back to his chest.

“Oh, Tony, don’t,” Stephen said. “I doubt he’s had his shots.”

“Damn right I ain’t had my shots,” Rocket spat. 

“This is Tony Stark?” Nebula asked, walking forward. She looked at the boy and Tony looked back, clearly enthralled by her blue skin. He struggled in Thor’s grip, reaching for Nebula.

“What is he doing?” Nebula asked, stepping back.

“He wants you to hold him,” Gamora said, fighting back a smile.

“I don’t hold children,” Nebula said.

Tony babbled at her, hands reaching for Nebula.

“He’s not going to hurt you,” Quill said, stuffing his face with something. Stephen wondered if he should mention that whatever was growing in the fridge shouldn’t be eaten by anyone even remotely human, but decided to just let it go.

“I know he’s not going to hurt me. He is a child. I don’t hold children.”

“He clearly wants you to,” Quill said, clearly enjoying Nebula’s discomfort.

Tony sagged in Thor’s arms, lower lip jutting out as his face screwed up.

“What is he doing now?” Nebula asked warily.

“He’s about to have a full blown temper tantrum,” Stephen said, stepping back and sticking his fingers in his ears.

Nebula let out a disgusted noise and took Tony from Thor. Tony grinned at her as she held him under the armpits, legs swinging back and forth. The look Nebula gave him was equally exasperated and disgusted.

“Now what do I do with it?”

Stephen snorted, dropping his hands to his side. “Generally, you hold him a little closer to your chest.”

Nebula tilted her head, finally bringing Tony close. Tony cooed and babbled, real words thrown in occasionally as he touched Nebula wherever he could reach.

“What happened to him?” Thor asked.

Stephen gave them a quick rundown of the fight in Central Park, and how Kamar-Taj was looking for a solution to the curse.

“Then I am afraid he won’t be able to help me,” Thor said, leaning against the workbench. Gamora had Tony in her arms now, swinging the boy up into the air. He laughed joyously, and Stephen was glad to see that his earlier temper tantrum seemed to be forgotten.

“What did you need help with?” Stephen asked, sitting on a stool.

“Politics, I’m afraid,” Thor said. “Loki was always better at that than I was.”

“Swing first, ask questions later kind of guy,” Quill said, pointing at Thor.

“What’s going on?”

“Midgardian politics. They are demanding many things of the colony that we cannot yet offer. We are still rebuilding,” Thor said. Stephen nodded. Thor and the remaining Asgardians had been given permission to settle in Norway, and he knew that the decision was fraught with difficulties from all parties.

“I would recommend talking to Pepper,” Stephen said, watching as Tony scrambled up Groot’s arms, Groot letting Tony hang off him. “Tony probably would’ve turned it over to her anyway.”

“Lady Potts is very wise,” Thor said.

“FRIDAY, please inform Pepper that Thor needs to speak to her,” Stephen said.

“Done. She said she needs about fifteen minutes to wrap up what she’s doing and she can come down,” FRIDAY said.

“Thank you, Lady FRIDAY,” Thor said.

“Are you sure I can’t look at what makes you tick?” Rocket asked the ceiling.

“No,” FRIDAY said firmly, making Stephen laugh.

Stephen looked between the Guardians. “Actually, I’m glad you are all here. Something’s come up and I could use your opinions on it.”

“Ours?” Mantis said, waving to Tony. Tony waved back, tumbling down Groot’s back into Drax’s arms. Stephen watched as Drax held the boy expertly against him and he remembered that Drax had lost a daughter to Thanos.

“Mostly Nebula and Gamora,” Stephen admitted. 

“Anything you have to say to them, you can say to us,” Quill said, brandishing his hand at Stephen.

Stephen just arched his eyebrow. Quill always got super protective of Gamora, not that that really surprised him after everything.

Gamora rested her hand on Quill’s shoulder, calming him down.

“What did you need, Doctor Strange?” Gamora asked. 

He glanced at Drax and Tony, making sure the boy was distracted before he reached into the diaper bag.

“A few days ago, we lost a sorcerer,” Stephen said quietly. Thor stepped closer as Stephen pulled out the photos. “It’s happened before. A…former sorcerer believes that magic perverts and corrupts the natural order. He takes the magic from sorcerers, and has been quiet since Tony and Carol brought everyone back. Until last week. One of our sorcerers was found dead, and there was this.” He handed Gamora the photo.

“‘Balance must be restored to the universe,’” Gamora read, handing the photo to Thor.

“Sounds like Thanos,” Quill said, stepping closer to Gamora. “Are we sure he’s dead?”

“Very,” Stephen said darkly. He took a deep breath, glancing at Tony to make sure the boy was still happy. “I was wondering if you’ve heard anything about the remnants of the Children of Thanos in your travels?”

Nebula shook her head. “I have been hunting them, but if any exist, they are hidden very well.”

Stephen sighed. He’d been hoping they knew something.

“If this is one of your sorcerers why would it have anything to do with nutsack chin?” Quill asked, still standing very close to Gamora.

“Because Mordo believes that balance must be restored. He would have followed Thanos because of that. He didn’t care about killing people. He believes balance is more important than anything,” Stephen said.

“Sounds like a fanatic,” Rocket grunted. He had taken something apart and DUM-E was trying to put it back together.

“He is,” Stephen said.

“You should speak to Loki,” Thor said, clapping Stephen on the shoulder. Stephen groaned, covering his face.

“I was hoping to avoid that,” Stephen said, looking into Thor’s mismatched eyes. Thor grinned at him.

“He may know something we don’t,” Gamora said.

Stephen sighed.

“FRIDAY, will Pepper be here soon?”

“She sends her apologies, but she is running behind.”

“We can watch Tony,” Thor said.

Stephen arched his eyebrow and stood up. Tony looked up at him from where he sat on the ground with Drax and Mantis, getting to his feet and toddling over to Stephen. Stephen lifted him into his arms, Tony’s legs automatically going to either side of his waist.

“Tony, I have to go visit an....acquaintance. Can you stay with Thor and his friends?”

Tony looked around, pointing at Thor. “Tor?”

“Yes, that’s Thor. He’s a good friend.”

“Stephen going away?” Tony asked, looking unsure.

“Only for a little bit. This won’t take long. Pepper will be here soon.”

Tony bit his lips, petting the Cloak. He finally nodded and Stephen pressed a kiss against his temple.

“Thank you, Tony,” Stephen whispered, setting him back on the ground. “Try not to blow anything up.”

“No promises,” Rocket said with a feral grin.

Stephen briefly shook Thor’s hand. “Watch over him for me,” he said, holding Thor’s gaze.

Thor nodded solemnly. “No harm shall come to Tony while I’m here.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said. He glanced at Tony, playing with Groot, and closed his eyes. He searched down the line of magic that tied Loki to him, locating the mischief maker far across the galaxy. 

He sighed again and opened a portal straight into Loki’s quarters on his ship.

:::

Loki looked up as familiar orange sparks created a portal in the center of his ship. He sighed, reclining back on his bed. He popped a grape in his mouth, watching as Stephen Strange stepped through. He caught a brief glance of Thor behind Strange, holding a child. Thor grinned and waved at him, making Loki roll his eyes and wave back. He’d have to ask Thor about the child next time they spoke. There was something familiar about that boy.

Strange let the portal collapse and Loki rolled to his feet, strolling closer to the Sorcerer Supreme. He prowled around the man, swatting at the Cloak as it attempted to reach out to smack him away.

“Why, if it isn’t my favorite probation officer,” Loki said, stopping in front of Stephen. “Did you bring your handcuffs?”

Stephen arched his eyebrow. “I am not your probation officer.”

“You monitor my magic, make sure I don’t go on any murderous rampages, and check up on me once every two months. That sounds like a probation officer,” Loki pointed out.

“You know it was part of the agreement to let you go free,” Stephen said.

Loki waved his hand, dismissing Stephen’s words. 

“I just need to ask you—” 

Loki surged close, grabbing the back of Stephen’s neck and pulling him in for a kiss. They were of a similar height, and he slotted their lips together greedily. Stephen didn’t react, simply letting Loki ravish his mouth.

Loki pulled back with a disgruntled snort. “It was more fun when you reacted to it,” he grumbled, walking back to his bed and flopping across it. Stephen just smirked. 

The first time Loki had kissed him he had tossed him through a portal in surprise. To be fair, he preferred the kissing to the stabbing, though Thor said that stabbing people was how Loki showed affection. If that was true (Stephen had trouble believing it) then Loki must believe that Stephen Strange was his bloody soulmate given how often the irate god had tried to stab him.

Stephen moved a pair of silk underwear off a chair before sitting down.

“And what can I do for you, officer?” Loki drawled, dropping another grape in his mouth.

“The Children of Thanos,” Stephen said. The grape got stuck in Loki’s throat as he sat up in shock, coughing. Stephen sighed and waved his hand, the grape shooting out of Loki’s mouth like a bullet.

“What about them?” Loki asked, rubbing his throat and glaring at Stephen. Maybe he would go back to stabbing him.

“Have you heard anything from them? Seen anything unusual regarding them?”

Loki tilted his head, eyes narrow. “Why? Thanos is dead, yes?”

“Very.”

“You’re sure?”

“We took his head and heart and turned them to ash, spreading them in separate bodies of water.”

“Very old school. Very effective.”

Loki stood back up, pacing slowly in front of Stephen. “I have heard strange rumors lately.”

Stephen sat there, waiting. He knew Loki liked to put on a little show. Loki spun on his heel, his hand touching his chest as he met Stephen’s eyes.

“Rumor has it Ebony Maw has been seen.”

Stephen jerked slightly at the name. He was mostly pretty good at not thinking about the torture he’d gone through at the hands of Ebony Maw, but having the name dropped on him like that made him flinch. 

Loki kindly didn’t say anything about it. 

“I know for a fact that Maw was killed.”

“Yes, getting sucked out the side of a ship certainly does have that effect,” Loki said. “Valkyrie sent me the message. She’s also out looking for other Asgardians, you know.”

Stephen nodded. Loki was only allowed on earth periodically for a while, so he, in his infinite kindness, offered to look for missing Asgardians. 

“Anyway, since we occasionally exchange barbs as we look for our people, she sent this,” Loki said, turning and calling up an image. Stephen stared, an uneasy feeling rising in him.

“It certainly looks like Maw,” he murmured, getting to his feet. Maw, if it really was him, stood above the body of an alien. It was the graffiti behind him that drew Stephen’s gaze.

It was in Asgardian, but he could read bits of it. 

“What does that say?” he asked, pointing at it.

“Noticed that, did you?” Loki asked. He enlarged it. “It says ‘Balance must be restored at any cost.’”

“Fuck.”

Loki blinked, trying to remember if he had heard Stephen curse like that before. 

“Do you mind explaining why you’re here and asking about the Children of Thanos?” Loki asked, blanking the image.

Stephen pulled out the pictures from earth, handing them to Loki. 

“Well,” Loki said, “looks like you have a problem.”

“So it would seem.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Keep an eye and ear out for anything like this. Sightings of Maw, or anyone else we know to be dead, anyone spouting nonsense about balance. And let me know if you hear anything.”

Loki watched him for a moment. He didn’t particularly like Stephen Strange, but he had come to respect him in a way he respected few others. 

“If I do this, my sentence is shortened,” Loki said, his fingers moving up Stephen’s chest. Stephen watched him, iridescent eyes glittering in the low light of the ship.

“You show up to help if I call,” Stephen said, “and you help us right this, and I’ll reduce the limits on your magic.”

“Done,” Loki said, bearing his teeth in a ferocious smile.

Stephen had a feeling he might regret that later, but he figured it was more important to curb the threat. He didn’t like to believe that Mordo had found the Children of Thanos and teamed up with them, but it certainly seemed like that was happening. If he wasn’t caring for Tony, he would be able to focus completely on the threat. He couldn’t find it within himself to regret caring for Tony, though. 

“I must ask,” Loki said after handing Stephen copies of the images Valkyrie had sent him. “Who was that delightful child my brother held? Did he find a mate?”

“If you harm that boy I will destroy you,” Stephen said, stepping close. Loki arched his eyebrow.

“So, your child then.”

Stephen cursed himself for falling for Loki’s words. Now Loki knew that the boy was important to him.

Stephen made a disgusted noise and spun, opening a portal back to the compound.

“Tell my brother I said hello,” Loki said, waving his fingers. “I’ll be in touch.”

“I’m sure you will,” Stephen said, stepping through back to earth and letting the portal collapse. Loki was going to be more of a pain in the ass than a two year old Tony Stark.

Stephen just knew it.

:::

Stephen froze when the portal collapsed. The fire alarm wailed, DUM-E was spraying something down with a fire extinguisher, and smoke filled the lab. He could hear Tony screaming, though he couldn’t tell if it was in terror or joy without seeing him.

With a couple of quick gestures, he sent the smoke through a portal. He stared at the hole in the wall of the lab with his mouth hanging open. Rocket and Tony sat on the ground, a scorched and melted _something_ on the ground between them. Quill seemed to be unconscious or asleep, Gamora was coughing, Nebula looked close to murdering someone, Drax and Mantis huddled in the corner when they saw Stephen, and Groot was trying to help DUM-E. Thor looked up as Stephen cleared the smoke, grinning.

“How was my brother?”

“What the _hell_ happened here?” Stephen asked. Tony looked up at his voice.

“Stephen!” Tony yelled, getting to his feet and running to Stephen as fast as he could. Stephen scooped him into his arms, staring at Tony with something akin to exasperated fondness. Tony was covered in whatever had exploded, his face covered in soot.

“I thought I said not to blow anything up?” Stephen asked, grabbing a wet wipe from one of Tony’s workbenches and wiping the boy’s face.

“Boom!” Tony said, laughing and swatting at Stephen’s hands.

“To be precise, I said no promises,” Rocket said, getting to his feet. He dusted off his jumpsuit, grinning at Stephen.

Stephen rolled his eyes, looking up as Pepper charged into the lab.

“Lady Potts!” Thor said, striding forward and crushing her in a hug.

“Thor! It’s good to see you,” Pepper said, stepping back. “What exactly happened…never mind,” she said, taking note of Rocket and Groot. Things always exploded around the anthropomorphic raccoon. She wasn’t sure if Groot liked the explosions or if he was just dragged along with Rocket’s antics. 

“I thought you were going to watch him, Thor,” Stephen said dryly, sitting Tony on a bench and digging into the diaper bag for a change of shirt. It was the Thor shirt, which Stephen found oddly appropriate. He glanced up at a quiet noise from Nebula.

“I wasn’t sure I believed you,” she said, stepping up next to him. Pepper and Thor were talking earnestly and Drax was rousing Quill. 

“About?” Stephen asked, tugging the shirt down over Tony’s chest. Tony grinned at him, cheeks still stained with soot.

“That this child was Tony Stark,” Nebula said, reaching out to touch his hair. Tony smiled at her, reaching for her hand. “But I saw his scars when we left Titan. This child has the same scars.”

Stephen nodded, using Tony’s distraction with Nebula to clean him a little better.

“Will you be able to fix him?” Nebula asked, letting Tony play with her fingers.

“Yes. It is just taking longer than anticipated,” Stephen said.

“Good. Tony Stark is my friend, and I don’t have many of those.”

Stephen nodded again. He understood completely. He lifted Tony into his arms, turning to face the others.

“Loki had some interesting things to say,” he said. “He said Ebony Maw has been spotted.”

“That is troubling,” Gamora said, kicking Quill in the side to get him to stand up.

“Yes, it is,” Stephen said. Tony rested his head on Stephen’s shoulder, yawning in his ear.

“We will keep an eye out for him,” Nebula said. If he wasn’t dead, he was going to wish he was by the time Nebula found him.

“What about this rogue sorcerer of yours?” Rocket asked, scrambling up Groot’s back to perch on his shoulder. “What’s he look like? Ya know, in case we find him first.”

Stephen half closed his eyes, holding up his hand and summoning a thread of magic. Tony smacked his shoulder as the magic turned into the image of Mordo, standing on his palm with the Staff of Living Tribunal swinging back and forth. Tony swiped at the magic, screeching in Stephen’s ear as it reformed as soon as he stuck his hands through it.

“Tony, quit,” Stephen said, holding his hand out so Rocket and the Guardians could get a good look.

“So, generic human. Got it. We’ll keep an eye out,” Quill said, crossing his arms.

“You magic users have a certain stink to you,” Rocket said. “If he’s somewhere we go, we’ll find him. If you pay us.”

“Mercenary,” Stephen said.

“Flatterer,” Rocket replied. 

“We should head out,” Gamora said, waving at Tony. “Thor, are you coming with us?”

“I need to go to New Asgard,” he said. “I have been away too long, and Heimdall should know about this threat.”

“Great!” Quill said, clearly pleased to see Thor go his own way for a while. The ship felt so crowded with him on it.

“Farewell, Pirate Angel,” Drax said.

“Farewell, gentle morons, rabbit,” Thor said, taking Stormbreaker off his back.

“Thor!” Pepper said. “Not in the lab!”

Thor sheepishly dropped the axe. “Of course, Lady Potts. Forgive me.”

“Tor leaving?” Tony asked.

“Yes, Thor is leaving,” Stephen said. “Say goodbye.”

“Bye bye, Tor!” Tony yelled. Thor smiled, stepping up to Stephen and taking Tony from him for a moment. Stephen smiled as Thor hugged Tony lightly.

“Be good for Stephen, little man of iron,” Thor said. Tony hugged his neck and reached out for Stephen.

“I’ll contact you when I speak to the politicians,” Pepper said.

“Thank you,” Thor said, nodding to her as he walked out of the lab.

“We will leave too,” Drax said.

“Wait,” Stephen said. “Mantis…can you do something for me?”

“Of course,” Mantis said, turning to face him. Stephen had fretted about asking her to do this, and he didn’t know what Tony would think of it, but while he had been reassured that Tony was in fact a two year old and not an adult in a child’s body, he wanted to be sure. Mantis couldn’t read his mind, but she would be able to sense his emotions.

“Can you tell if Tony is an adult trapped like this? Or if he’s really just a child?” Stephen asked quietly.

She stepped forward and Tony watched her, reaching out to touch her antennae. Mantis rested her hand on Tony’s head and Tony laughed as her antennae started to glow.

“He is happy,” Mantis said, her large eyes focused on Tony. “He feels safest in your arms. He is not afraid, if that is what you are concerned about. He feels like any child I have experienced.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said, breathing a sigh of relief. He knew his cheeks were pink as he hid his face against Tony’s downy hair. Tony felt safe with him.

“Can we go now?” Quill asked.

“Got a hot date?” Gamora asked wryly, waving at Tony. Tony grinned and waved back.

“I am Groot,” Groot said.

“I am Groot!” Tony bellowed back, clapping his hands.

“Kid’s not that bad,” Rocket said from Groot’s shoulder. “Still likes to blow shit up. I like that in a kid.”

Stephen shook his head. He’d have to figure out how to fix the wall before Tony was adult again. Tony would not be thrilled about the new hole in the wall.

“We’ll keep our eyes open,” Quill said, shaking Stephen’s hand gently and ruffling Tony’s hair.

“I appreciate it,” Stephen said.

“Goodbye, Tony,” Nebula said.

Tony reached for her and the android woman sighed, taking him Stephen and letting him hug her. 

“You’re not hugging me as an adult,” Nebula said. “I don’t do hugs.”

Tony blew a raspberry at her and hugged her neck. She carefully handed him back to Stephen and the guardians walked out of the lab. Stephen could hear them bickering as they walked and he shook his head.

He would need to tell Wong what Loki and the Guardians had said, but he had promised Tony dinner.

He looked at Pepper, who was staring at the hole in the wall. 

“I told Tony we’d do dinner. Join us? Happy and Rhodey are invited as well,” Stephen said, leaning hipshot against the workbench.

Tony rested his head on Stephen’s shoulder, little fingers tangled in his hair.

“Rhodey is in DC, but Happy and I would be glad to join you both,” Pepper said with a smile. “Then you can tell me what’s really going on.”

He unconsciously rocked his body back and forth, Tony in his arms. Tony seemed content, his temper tantrum from earlier in the day forgotten.

“I think that sounds fair,” Stephen said.

Pepper smiled wryly. “Let me get someone started on this wall, and then we can figure out where we’re going. Why don’t you take him to the office ?”

She stepped through the hole in the wall to hunt someone down to fix the wall in Tony’s lab. 

Stephen looked at Tony, rocking the nearly sleeping boy back and forth. He grabbed the diaper bag and headed out of the hole in the wall, walking to Pepper’s office. The door opened as he walked up and he thanked FRIDAY quietly.

Tony was asleep by the time he sat on the couch, but Stephen was content to sit there with his warm weight against his chest.

He wished that Mordo had never returned. He wished he could just have this time with Tony without feeling guilty about neglecting his duties. He hugged Tony just a little tighter.

He would do anything to protect Tony. He pressed a kiss against Tony’s temple, inhaling the scent of his slightly smoky hair. He relaxed into the couch, rocking Tony and humming a quiet song.

Tony turned into Stephen’s chest, cuddling closer in his sleep. Stephen remembered what Mantis had said; Tony felt safe with him. Stephen would do whatever it took for Tony to keep that feeling, no matter his age.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't plan on having the guardians feature much more. There are already a lot of characters and I'm not super confident on writing them. The Avengers will feature more heavily as the plot progresses. Stupid plot.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are love! (and encouragement for me to get off my ass)


	12. A White Wolf hitches a ride through a portal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen, Pepper, and Happy take Tony to dinner, Bucky hitches a ride through a portal to Wakanda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get the entire Wakanda trip in this chapter, but it was getting long, so the fun part of the Wakanda trip will be in the next chapter. little bit of angst towards the end of this chapter. It had to happen. It's me.
> 
> Expect updates every six weeks or so. This is WIP #1 in my rotation of 6.
> 
> not beta-ed.

Tony sat in a booster seat in the booth next to Stephen, banging his fists against the table and laughing hysterically as his crayons bounced. Stephen focused on Pepper and Happy across from them, fighting the smile on his face.

“Tony, color with the crayons,” Happy said, leaning across the table to pick one up. Tony’s eyes widened as Happy swiped one of his crayons and drew a heart on the edge of the kid’s menu.

Tony grabbed one of the fat, oversized crayons and started to scribble all over the menu, babbling happily. He snagged the crayon from Happy’s loose grip, adding the blue to the red scribbles he’d already put all over the menu.

“Are you ready to order?” the waitress asked.

Stephen glanced at Happy and Pepper and the two nodded. Stephen took one last look at the menu while Pepper placed her order. Happy ordered next and Stephen finally decided on a pasta dish. It would be relatively easy to eat and he wouldn’t need to cut it. His hands were bothering him more than usual.

“And for the little man?” the waitress asked, smiling at Tony. Tony gave her a toothy grin before going back to his coloring.

“The chicken tenders please,” Stephen said, handing the adults’ menus back to her.

“Ketchup or ranch?”

“Both,” Pepper said. The waitress nodded and walked away to put their order in. Stephen leaned back in the booth, breathing deeply.

“You got someone working on repairing the hole in Tony’s lab?” Stephen asked, his fingers dragging lightly over Tony’s scalp. The boy hummed, laser focused on his menu.

“Yes,” Pepper said with a smile, taking a sip of her wine. “It won’t take long. It’s not the first time he’s blown a hole in the wall of his lab.”

“Not even the tenth,” Happy added, arm around the back of Pepper’s chair. “Although he’s usually older when it happens.”

“Boom?” Tony asked, looking up with bright eyes.

“No more booms for you, sir,” Stephen said, flicking Tony’s nose. Tony squealed with laughter, dropping the crayon and grabbing Stephen’s hand. Stephen let him play with his fingers, flinching slightly when he pressed down on one of the pins.

“Not there, okay?” Stephen said, turning his hand in Tony’s grip.

“Okay,” Tony said cheerfully, smiling at Stephen. Stephen smiled back and pushed the crayons back to Tony. The toddler babbled and picked them up, trying to use three at the same time.

“How are you doing, Stephen?” Pepper asked gently. He looked exhausted.

Stephen smiled at her. “As well as can be expected. I’m not used to dealing with children. I feel like a forty year old trying to keep up with a two year old and failing. Tony’s been good, though. He did have a hell of a tantrum this morning before heading to the compound, and I still don’t know why.”

“He’s two,” Pepper said. “I’m not sure he knows why he was angry. He seems okay now.”

“He seemed to like Thor and the guardians,” Stephen said.

“Tor?” Tony asked, looking around.

“No, Thor’s not here,” Stephen said. “You’re stuck with us.”

Tony blew a raspberry, legs kicking under the table. He went back to coloring, nearly half of the menu covered with a hodge podge of scribbles.

“So, where did you go when you left him with Thor and the others?” Happy asked quietly.

Stephen looked around, making sure they weren’t being overheard.

“I had to talk to Loki,” he whispered.

Pepper reared back in her chair slightly, eyebrows climbing.

“Is whatever’s going on that bad then?” she asked. 

Stephen sighed, reaching for his glass. It trembled slightly in his hand as he took a sip of the rich red wine.

“It’s not good,” he said. He made sure Tony was distracted by his crayons and quietly gave them a brief rundown of the situation with Mordo. Pepper looked worried, leaning slightly into Happy’s side. Stephen stopped talking as the waitress brought their food to them, setting their plates down.

Tony grinned widely when he saw the chicken tenders with little bowls of ketchup and ranch. He clapped his hands, the crayons clattering to the table. Stephen sighed, pulling Tony’s plate closer to cut the tenders apart.

“I got it,” Happy said, reaching across and swiftly cutting Tony’s dinner into bite sized pieces.

“Thank you,” Stephen said quietly. He normally hated it when people—especially people he barely knew—did things for him, but he was sore and tired and was still trying to figure out what to do about Mordo and Tony.

Stephen took a bite of his pasta and sighed. He could admit it was nice not to cook. They steered the dinner conversation back to safer topics, talking about Tony and My Little Pony and the meeting with the Avengers.

Tony happily dunked his chicken tenders in his ketchup and then his ranch dressing, shoving the pieces into his mouth. It didn’t take long for his face and fingers to be absolutely covered in condiments.

Pepper took a picture of Tony, fighting back a laugh as she ate her salad. They finished their dinners, thanking the waitress as she took the plates away. Tony reached up and smeared ketchup on Stephen’s cheek, laughing riotously. Stephen rolled his eyes, pulling Tony out of his booster seat into his lap.

“You are a little monster,” Stephen said, grabbing some napkins and wiping Tony’s fingers.

“Monster,” Tony said, grabbing at Stephen’s cheeks and rubbing his goatee.

Pepper discreetly filmed them with her phone, smiling slightly. 

“Now I’m going to have ketchup all over my face, aren’t I?”

“Yeah!” Tony said, scrunching up his nose as Stephen wiped his face clean. He turned Tony in his lap to face the others, letting him stay there.

“Are we interested in desert?” the waitress asked. 

“Yeah!” Tony yelled, making the adults laugh.

Stephen looked at the dessert menu, holding it so Tony could see. Tony pointed at the picture of the cookie in a small skillet with ice cream on top.

“That one?” Stephen asked. Tony nodded excitedly and Stephen ordered it.

“He’s going to be awake for hours after that sugar rush,” Pepper said after the waitress walked away again.

Stephen shrugged. “He took a nap before dinner, and I stay up late anyway. We’ll watch My Little Pony and I’ll read to him. He’ll run himself out eventually.”

“Your funeral,” Happy said cheerfully.

Stephen laughed quietly, bouncing Tony on his lap. The waitress brought their cookie and four spoons. They thanked her and Stephen picked up one of the spoons. He dug it into the cookie and ice cream, offering Tony a small bite. Tony smacked his lips.

“Good?” Stephen asked in his ear.

“Yum!” Tony said, smiling widely at him.

Stephen dropped a kiss onto Tony’s soft hair and took a bite himself. They shared their dessert, Pepper and Happy occasionally stealing bites. They finished and Pepper used her Stark Industries card to pay for the meal.

“What are your plans for the next couple days?” Pepper asked as they gathered their things. Happy held the diaper bag and Pepper’s purse while Pepper got her sweater on. Stephen lifted Tony into his arms, little legs going on either side of Stephen’s waist. The Cloak, still disguised as a scarf, wrapped around Tony’s fingers.

“Princess Shuri invited us to Wakanda. I figure we’ll go there for the day. Give me a chance to get out of my own head, too.”

“Tony will love Wakanda,” Pepper said. “He loves it as an adult, and I doubt Shuri will let him blow a wall out of her lab.”

“She doesn’t let Rocket into her lab,” Stephen said dryly.

“Rocket?” Tony asked, looking around excitedly for the raccoon.

“No,” Stephen said, rolling his eyes. He lifted the Spider-Man plush and Tony snatched it from him, strangling it in a hug.

They walked to the car and Happy handed Stephen the diaper bag. The Cloak took most of the weight of it, knowing Stephen’s hands were sore. 

“Let us know if you need anything,” Pepper said, surprising Stephen with a brief hug. Tony squealed as Pepper lifted him from Stephen’s arms, swinging him around before kissing his cheek. “Be good for Stephen, okay?”

“Okay, Pep,” Tony said, tangling his fingers in her hair.

“I hope your fingers are ketchup free,” she said as Happy took him. Tony grinned as Happy bounced him in the air, hugging him gently before handing him back to Stephen. Stephen hiked him up on his hip and opened a portal back to the penthouse.

“I’ll let you know when we’re back from Wakanda,” Stephen said, stepping through. He lifted his hand in farewell and let the portal collapse. He groaned as he deposited Tony on the couch, stretching his back.

“Pony?” Tony asked, looking up at Stephen with wide brown eyes.

“My Little Pony time, FRIDAY,” Stephen said, carrying Tony’s sippy cup to the sink to wash it. He heard the show start and Tony’s happy babbling as the opening song started. Stephen set the cup aside and dried it with magic. He filled it with apple juice and walked back out, setting it by Tony.

“Thanks!” Tony yelled, flashing a smile at Stephen. Stephen smiled back and ran his fingers through Tony’s hair. He headed to the wide windows overlooking the city, watching the clouds move in, rain starting to lash against the window. He rested his forehead against the glass, breathing slowly.

He half closed his eyes, remembering standing next to his mentor as she stretched her last moment out. There was a part of him that wanted to stretch this moment out, these moments with Tony. He felt…loved, accepted, needed. He didn’t feel quite as lonely as he usually did. He wondered if Pepper and Happy and Rhodey would go back to barely talking to him after Tony was an adult again, and he found—a bit to his surprise—that he would miss them. He could easily see why Tony loved them so much. He didn’t have many friends; Wong, Christine, the other masters. Even the other sorcerers weren’t exactly friends. He knew the level of power he could command, the fact that he had once been the guardian of the Time Stone, and the fact that he had given that stone up, made some of them uneasy. It made him think of Mordo becoming disillusioned. Was Mordo out there right now, stealing the magic from people? He had found Pangborn. He knew Mordo had somehow gotten in touch with the Children of Thanos. They had to stop him. He sighed, letting his eyes fall all the way closed. He took a deep breath, jumping when he felt little hands on his knee.

He looked down to see Tony looking up at him with wide eyes. Tony hugged his legs, flashing a smile at him before running back to the couch to keep watching his show. Stephen walked over to it, sitting down next to Tony.

Tony cuddled against him and the Cloak spread over them. 

Stephen pushed his worries about Mordo and the Children of Thanos away. He focused on the boy snuggled against his side, determined to keep him happy.

:::

The next morning, after a breakfast of Eggo waffles absolutely drowning in syrup, Stephen’s phone rang.

“FRIDAY, who is it?” Stephen asked, wiping Tony’s fingers free of the sticky syrup.

“Bucky Barnes,” FRIDAY said.

Stephen looked up, brow furrowing in confusion. “Answer it, please.”

“Hello, Doctor Strange?” Bucky’s voice came from the ceiling.

“Good morning, Sergeant Barnes. What can I do for you?”

“First, you can call me Bucky. I haven’t been Sergeant Barnes in a very long time.”

“Fair enough, Bucky. Then please call me Stephen.”

“Bucky!” Tony yelled, looking around the penthouse.

Bucky’s laugh echoed through the kitchen. “Hey, kiddo. Anyway, Shuri contacted me and said you were coming to Wakanda today and I was wondering if I could hitch a ride through one of your portals?”

“Uh, sure?” Stephen said, a little confused. “May I ask why?”

“Well, normally Tony does the check-ups on my arm, but I think he’s more likely to lick it at the moment.”

Stephen nodded. “This is true. I need to finish getting Tony ready.”

“That’s fine, I’m not in a hurry.”

“Bucky?” Tony asked, frowning at the ceiling. “Where Bucky?”

“I’m downstairs, actually,” Bucky said.

“Is Rogers with you?” Stephen asked swiftly.

“Give me a little credit, Strange. No, I’m alone.”

Stephen stood up and tossed the wet paper towels in the trash. “FRIDAY, has Bucky been into the penthouse before?” He didn’t want to let anyone in that Tony hadn’t let in on his own before.

“Yes,” FRIDAY said softly. “Sergeant Barnes and the boss usually get together a couple times a month in the penthouse.”

“Thank you,” Stephen said. “Come on up then, Bucky.”

“See you in a few. Thanks, I really appreciate it.” Bucky hung up and Stephen lifted Tony into his arms.

“Let’s get you dressed, hmm? I think we’ll put you in the Black Panther shirt, just so I can see the Dora Milaje’s response to it.”

Stephen set Tony on the bed and pulled the Black Panther shirt out. “Arms up.” Tony stuck his arms up and Stephen tugged his pajamas off. He quickly checked the diaper, unpinning it and sprinkling his butt with powder. “Better?” Stephen asked, pinning the diaper with magic again.

“Yeah,” Tony said, legs kicking as Stephen fought to get the little socks on his feet. Tony laughed, thinking the game was great fun. Stephen finally got him into the little shorts and the Black Panther shirt just as there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Stephen yelled, tucking an extra pair of clothes into the diaper bag. He stuck the sunscreen and the baby powder in, along with some snacks.

“Hello?” Bucky’s voice called from the living room.

“Bucky!” Tony yelled, picking up his Spider-Man plush and running out of the bedroom, Spider-Man bouncing against the floor with every step.

“Hey, kiddo,” Bucky said, scooping Tony into his arms. Tony immediately started petting the metal arm, banging his fist against it. “Nice shirt. Shuri’s going to get a kick out of that.”

Stephen smiled as he joined them. He was wearing casual clothes with the Cloak draped over his shoulders. “That’s half the reason I chose that one for him today.”

“It’s a good choice,” Bucky said, bouncing Tony on his hip. “I appreciate you letting me tag along for this.”

“Not a problem,” Stephen said, sitting down to lace up his tennis shoes. “Sorry I snapped about Rogers.”

“Nah, don’t be. Stevie doesn’t like seeing my arm getting messed with. I think it bothers him.”

Stephen hummed noncommittally, standing up. Tony seemed content in Bucky’s arms and Stephen couldn’t deny that his hands really needed the break from carrying him.

“Do you mind carrying him?” Stephen asked, slinging the diaper bag across his chest.

“Not at all,” Bucky said. Stephen was sure that Bucky knew his hands were bothering him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Stephen stuck the sling ring on his fingers and looked up.

“FRIDAY, show me an image of where I’m going, please.”

FRIDAY pulled up a hologram of Shuri’s lab, letting Stephen get a good long look at it. He’d been to Wakanda before, but he felt he didn’t know it enough to portal there without seeing an image of a specific location. 

“And here we go,” Stephen murmured, fingers moving stiffly as he summoned the portal. Tony cooed excitedly, fingers tangled in Bucky’s hair. Stephen waved Bucky through, noting the look of wonder on the super soldier’s face. He followed them, snagging Tony’s glasses off the table and putting them on before letting the portal collapse. FRIDAY flashed a heart emoji in the corner of the lens, glad to be with them.

Tony looked around in wonder, mouth open.

“If it isn’t my favorite white boy!” Shuri said, walking into her lab. Bucky turned, grinning at her. Tony squealed when he saw her, reaching out. His fingers touched her face and he seemed confused when his hand didn’t go through her cheek. He poked at her, face furrowed in concentration.

“Easy, kid, she’s actually there, not a hologram,” Bucky said. 

Stephen chuckled, dropping the diaper bag to the floor.

“Princess, thank you for inviting us,” Stephen said, bowing his head respectfully. Shuri made a derisive noise and scooped Tony from Bucky’s arms. 

“Like I was going to miss out on the opportunity to see Tony Stark as a toddler,” she said, swinging the boy back and forth. Tony shrieked with laughter, reaching for her braids. She held him away from her, snorting at his shirt. “Do they make these in adult sizes?”

“Why?” Bucky asked.

“Because I want to outfit the Dora Milaje in them and see T’Challa’s response.”

Stephen chuckled quietly, watching as Shuri swung Tony around. The boy squealed with laughter, cheeks flushed as he grinned. “I’ll get to you in a moment, White Wolf,” she said, spinning Tony around.

“Oh, it’s fine. I know I take second place to that face,” Bucky said, gesturing to Tony. Bucky picked up the Spider-Man plush from where Tony had dropped it and tucked it under his arm.

“You’re my favorite white boy,” Shuri said. “Everett Ross is my second favorite. Tony Stark is a close third.”

Stephen laughed and sat in a nearby chair. He rubbed at his face, covering a yawn. Tony had fallen asleep late and had multiple nightmares through the night. He wasn’t going to tell Pepper and Happy that though. He’d never hear the end of it.

“Well, you’re my favorite princess,” Bucky said, leaning against a workbench. 

“How many princesses do you know?” Shuri asked, arching her eyebrow at him.

“Uh…”

“That’s what I thought,” Shuri said. She knelt, letting Tony stand on his own two feet, and reached for an oversized Kimoyo bead on a bench. Tony stared, lips pursed, as she handed it to him.

He squealed when it lit up, colors flashing across his skin. He plopped on his butt and rolled it back and forth, screeching when it started playing music. It stopped when he stopped rolling it, and he looked delighted when he realized he was in control of the noise and lights.

Stephen smiled. “Thank you, Princess.”

“Call me Shuri,” she said, getting to her feet. She shoved Bucky into a chair. “Lose the shirt so I can get started. I bet Tony would love to see other parts of Wakanda.”

Bucky pulled off his shirt and rested his arm on the table. Shuri pulled up her diagnostics and starting running it, muttering to herself occasionally.

Tony rolled his new toy over to Stephen, sitting next to him and rolling to Kimoyo ball to him. Stephen smiled and rolled it back. Tony babbled happily, content to roll it back and forth with Stephen.

Shuri finished her diagnostics and patted Bucky’s shoulder. “Everything looks good. I guess Stark has been taking care of it.”

Bucky snorted, pulling his shirt back on. “He only adds prank lines of code every couple of months, usually triggered by Steve somehow.”

Shuri rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. Sounds like something Stark would do.”

“I do have a question, though,” Bucky said, looking at her.

“I have an answer.”

“Can you make me a chocolate arm?”

Stephen burst out laughing across the room, making Tony laugh with him. Bucky flashed a quick smile at them before turning back to an incredulous Shuri.

“You want a chocolate arm?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“Why?”

“So Tony and I can eat it.”

Shuri stared at him, her face completely neutral.

“You white boys are so weird.”

:::

It didn’t take long for word to get to T’Challa that they were there. Tony stared at the king as he walked into the lab, kicking his Kimoyo ball over to him. T’Challa knelt, smiling at Tony.

“Hi,” Tony half yelled.

“Hello there,” T’Challa said, rolling the ball back to him. Tony grabbed it, sitting back down and banging his hands against the ball. Bursts of light and color exploded from it with each hit, making him laugh.

He got a good look at Tony’s shirt and laughed, arching his eyebrow. Shuri grinned at him from across the lab. 

“I must admit I like his shirt,” T’Challa said.

“You would like the ego boost,” his sister said.

“I look good as a cartoon character.”

Shuri snorted. “I guess you have to look good some of the time.”

Tony rolled his ball into T’Challa’s leg, grinning at him happily. T’Challa bent over and picked Tony up, holding him easily. Tony touched T’Challa’s hair, looking around from his perch in the king’s arms.

“It’s even more fascinating to see him in the flesh,” T’Challa said.

“May I run scans on him? Maybe there’s a nonmagical solution to his predicament,” Shuri said to Stephen. Stephen tilted his head, consulting quickly with FRIDAY. It certainly couldn’t hurt to have Shuri look him over.

“Yes, go ahead,” Stephen said slowly.

“I swear, I’m not going to do anything little white boy won’t like,” Shuri said, taking Tony from her brother. T’Challa moved to speak to Bucky while Shuri sat Tony on a table. He grinned up at her, playing with the edge of his pants.

“You are pretty cute like this,” Shuri said, using the Kimoyo beads around her wrist to scan Tony. He babbled at her, reaching for the beads. She drew her wrist back out of his reach.

“You’ll probably stick it in your mouth and I doubt Doctor Strange would want to clean up that mess.”

“Please no,” Stephen said, walking closer to Tony. Tony stood up on the table, walking slowly to Stephen. He lifted his arms up, making grabby hands at the sorcerer.

“Up!” Tony said.

“Demanding, aren’t you?” Stephen said. “What do we say?”

Tony bit his lip, thinking. “Please?”

“Good,” Stephen said, scooping Tony into his arms. Tony hugged him, babbling in his ear. Shuri grinned at him.

“You don’t seem too bad for a white boy either,” she said to Stephen.

“Glad I have your seal of approval,” he said dryly. She laughed, looking at Tony’s scans.

“He looks like a normal toddler,” she murmured, flipping through the scans. “I’ll look deeper into them and let you know if I find anything.”

“I appreciate it,” Stephen said, rocking back and forth slightly.

Tony tugged on Stephen’s lip. “I hungry.”

“You’re hungry? After all those waffles this morning?” Stephen asked.

“Yeah, hungry,” Tony said, jutting his lower lip out. Stephen tweaked his lip, smirking at Tony’s indigent squawk. 

“We can swing by the kitchens,” T’Challa said. 

“I’m sure your mother will want to see Tony,” Bucky said with a grin. He picked up Tony’s Kimoyo ball and the diaper bag for Stephen, getting a nod of thanks from the doctor.

“Oh, I’m quite certain,” T’Challa said. “This way.” He led the way to the door and they followed. The Dora Milaje fell into step behind them. Okoye glanced at the boy in Doctor Strange’s arm, quirking her eyebrow when the child grinned at her waved.

Stephen took the time during the walk to look around the palace of Wakanda. He hadn’t spent much time here in the years since The Decimation had been reversed, and he had to admit the place was truly beautiful. He was glad that T’Challa and Shuri had invited them.

As they passed a window, Stephen noted that the sun was setting. Tony looked around with awe, pointing at everything and babbling questions.

“I know we have quite the time difference between here and New York,” T’Challa said to Stephen as they walked. “A room has been made up for the two of you if you’d like to stay the night and see Wakanda during the day tomorrow.”

“We’d like that,” Stephen said. He was concerned at how well Tony would handle the time change. For Tony, it was barely noon, while in Wakanda it was eight at night. He highly doubted Tony would want to sleep any time soon, though if Stephen were honest with himself he was ready for bed.

“Am I just being thrown out in the trash heap?” Bucky asked, fighting a smirk.

“I think I might have a dumpster or two you could sleep in,” Shuri leered at him.

T’Challa rolled his eyes. “Your usual room is set aside for you, Mr. Barnes.”

“You’re no fun, brother,” Shuri said, punching his shoulder.

Stephen shook his head, hiking Tony higher up on his hip. Tony put his arm around Stephen’s neck, fingers playing with the hair at the base of Stephen’s skull.

They stopped at the kitchens and they sat down at a table to eat. The conversation was easy and quiet, Bucky and Shuri needling each other constantly with T’Challa butting in from time to time. Stephen watched them; it reminded him of playfully arguing with his sister, and he closed his eyes. 

He didn’t think about her often, but when the memories hit, they hit hard. He locked the memories of his sister in the back of his mind, along with the memories of his countless deaths at Dormammu’s hands and fourteen million six hundred and four failed futures. He remembered each and every one of them, even when he didn’t want to. He focused on Tony’s warm weight on his lap, the boy cramming the finger foods in his mouth with abandon. He was hit by a wave of loneliness again and the Cloak tightened around him slightly.

T’Challa led Stephen to the suite of rooms set aside for him, right next door to Bucky’s. T’Challa and Shuri both had a meeting to attend, and apologized for leaving them alone. Stephen waved their apologies away.

“I understand. Thank you for extending your hospitality to us.”

“It is our pleasure,” T’Challa said, gently shaking Stephen’s hand. Shuri slapped Bucky upside the head as they left.

“Well, my body says it’s about one in the afternoon,” Bucky said, stretching.

“Come on,” Stephen said, opening the door to his room and carrying Tony through. Bucky followed, setting Tony’s Kimoyo ball and Spider-Man plush on the couch. Tony yawned, resting his head against Stephen’s shoulder.

“Are you tired?” Stephen asked, bouncing Tony lightly on his hip.

“Yeah,” Tony whispered, nodding against Stephen. 

Stephen wondered how long he could get Tony to sleep; the boy hadn’t slept well the night before, and quite frankly neither had Stephen. He walked over to the couch and sat down, Tony already dozing against him.

Bucky sat next to him, stretching out. He showed Stephen how to work the very high tech television, keeping the sound low as to not disturb Tony. 

Tony slept deeply against Stephen’s shoulder, a puddle drool forming quickly on his shirt. The Cloak half wrapped itself around Tony, keeping him pressed against Stephen.

“He is pretty cute like that,” Bucky said, smiling slightly as Stephen gently adjusted Tony to a more comfortable position. 

“He is,” Stephen agreed, gently stroking Tony’s back.

“Will he remember any of this?” Bucky asked.

Stephen shrugged. “Most people don’t remember a lot from this age. I only have a few memories of that time and I have an eidetic memory.”

Bucky hummed, glancing out the window. The room was facing away from the lights of Birnin Zana and the stars were particularly bright. He turned his attention back to Stephen, watching the man for a moment.

Stephen felt a little off balance under Bucky’s watchful gaze, although he couldn’t fully explain why.

“Do you want him to remember?” Bucky asked. “When this is over and he’s back to normal, do you want him to remember this?”

Stephen was silent. He rested his cheek against Tony’s hair, thinking. Did he want Tony to remember this? Did he want Tony to remember him giving him a bath, feeding him, wiping his butt, singing to him, reading to him, dancing to My Little Pony with him? He was certain it would make things awkward and strained between them. They rarely spent time around each other before this had happened, and Stephen wasn’t expecting things to change once Tony’s curse was broken. 

Did he want Tony to remember how Stephen dropped everything to care for him? Did he really want Tony to look deeper into that, to see the truth?

“I don’t know, Bucky,” Stephen whispered, arms tightening around the sleeping boy. “I just don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter, Tony meeks M'Baku and wants to ride a rhino. If I can keep it a reasonable length we should hit a big plot point. Maybe.
> 
> comments and kudos are love!

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are love and encouragement!
> 
> will update ASAP.
> 
> (I know, I really didn't need another WIP but...but...it's a Tiny Tony Stark!)


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